


Walk A Mile In My Shoes

by madnephelite



Category: Station 19 (TV)
Genre: Body Swap, F/M, Friendship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:26:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 47,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24869857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madnephelite/pseuds/madnephelite
Summary: Lucas Ripley and Victoria Hughes get a taste of what it's like to be the other in the most unusual way.
Relationships: Victoria Hughes/Lucas Ripley
Comments: 342
Kudos: 107





	1. Rude Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> So here is my new story and I'm really excited to write this one. I had the idea while watching a movie and I just had to write it because I thought it was such a fun idea and I really hope you guys enjoy it.

The room was spinning. The walls were closing in on her. She could barely breathe. Ben was trying to explain Travis’ condition and chances of recovery to her but she wasn’t hearing any of it. She didn’t want to listen to him.

Vic was angry. She was angry at Ben for just leaving Travis in the stairwell while he was bleeding out. She was angry at Travis for giving up and telling Ben to leave him there. She was angry at Ripley for evacuating the entire building with her team still inside. She was so angry that she had yelled at him again and unlike last time, this time he threatened to fire her and Vic was sure that he had meant it.

He had been so pissed and upset and maybe even a little bit hurt. He had insisted that he cared more than she possibly knew but Vic didn’t believe him. She didn’t believe that Ripley cared about anyone but himself and his stupid rules and protocol and looking good in front of the camera.

The room still hadn’t stopped spinning and she still felt like she was suffocating. Her eyes filled with tears as she gasped for air. She needed to get out of the hospital. She needed some air.

She could hear Ben calling her name as she ran but she ignored him. She ran as fast as her legs would take her, not looking where she was going when she suddenly collided with something hard. She could feel herself falling backwards when two strong hands grabbed her arms to steady her and keep her upright. She finally looked up only to come face to face with Chief Ripley of all people. 

They stared at each other, both breathing heavily, his hands still gripping her arms. Vic couldn’t help but notice how big and warm his hands were and she didn’t know why she noticed that particular fact about him or why it gave her some sort of comfort.

She studied his face. The lines on his forehead were deeper than usual. His face was dirty from the soot. His blue eyes looked tired and were currently boring into hers, making her forget everything for a moment. Her mind was completely blank. It was just her and Ripley in that moment until it all came rushing back to her: Dragging Travis down the stairs while he was bleeding out; yelling at Ripley again, accusing him of not caring, him yelling back and threatening to fire her, Travis’ heart surgery.

And just like before it was all too much. She needed to get out. She needed to leave. She couldn’t stay there. She couldn’t stay there with him. It was all his fault.

“This is all your fault. I hate you,” she spat out, watching him wince at her harsh words, hurt evident in his eyes but she didn’t care about that. He deserved it.

She knew that if she didn’t leave now she would start crying in front of him and she didn’t want to do that. She couldn’t do that. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She tore her arms away from his tight grip and brushed past him, running outside into the cold night. She broke down on the first bench she could find and just let herself cry.  
  


* * *

  
Lucas loved his job. He had been doing it for over fifteen years. Had saved many lives. Had become the youngest chief to ever run the Fire Department in Seattle but as the chief, he also had to make a lot of difficult decisions, some of which he didn’t like but were necessary to ensure as few casualties as possible. He knew protocol, he knew what he had to do at all times and he was willing to do it. He always managed to do things with a clear head and without letting personal feelings get in the way but today was different.

Today for the first time in a long time, he hated his job. Today, he wanted nothing more than to just quit and never look back. Today for the first time ever, he didn’t think that this job was worth all the sacrifices he had to make. Today for the first time since he became chief, he wasn’t sure that he had made the right decisions.

Watching Miller and Hughes carry an unconscious Montgomery out of the building had given him pause. Watching the young man, who he had been very fond of especially after the death of his husband Michael, bleed out on the gurney had given him pause. Watching Hughes’ distraught face as the paramedics worked on her critically injured teammate had given him pause.

He had told her to get some O2 and get checked out but she had insisted that she was fine and just needed to catch her breath. He had planned on walking away but something made him linger. Something made him stop and ask about Herrera and Gibson. Something made him explain himself when she yelled at him once again instead of just reprimanding her and walking away.

She had accused him of not caring, like he was some heartless prick, and it had hurt more than he cared to admit mainly because it was  _ her _ because he didn’t want  _ her _ to think so little of him.

And here they were again. In the middle of the hospital, his hands were gripping her arms, keeping her steady so she wouldn’t fall. She looked tired and exhausted, dried blood on her forehead and cheek, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She looked heartbroken and hurt and it made his heart ache to see her like that.

Lucas gazed into her eyes, forgetting everything around him. It was like it was just the two of them and he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and give her comfort but that would be wrong and he knew it.

“This is all your fault. I hate you,” she spat out and Lucas winced at her harsh words because they hurt him more than she could know but at the same time he thought that he deserved it after everything that had happened.

If he had made a different choice then maybe Montgomery would be okay now and Hughes wouldn’t be so heartbroken and angry.

Lucas could tell that she was holding back tears, probably didn’t want to cry in front of him. She shrugged his hands off of her before brushing past him and disappearing into the cold night.

Lucas just stared after her, wondering if he should follow her to make sure that she was okay but he knew that it was wrong and that she didn’t want that. She didn’t want him anywhere near her. She hated him and even though it hurt him to hear those words coming out of her mouth he couldn’t blame her for feeling that way about him.

He sighed as he rubbed his beard. He had to find Dr. Bailey. He needed to know how Montgomery was doing. He needed to make sure that he was alive and okay otherwise he may never forgive himself.

* * *

  
Vic groaned as she woke up the next day. She stretched her tired and sore muscles and winced at how much her back hurt from having slept in an uncomfortable hospital chair all night long. 

She slowly opened her eyes, adjusting to the bright light and was confused as to where she was. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in Travis’ room but now she was sitting in the waiting room, surrounded by her team. The nurses must have kicked her out of the room and she had just forgotten.

She got up quietly, trying not to wake her colleagues and went looking for a restroom. On her way, she passed several nurses who checked her out and smiled at her and under normal circumstances she would have felt flattered but right now, she felt like death warmed over and she was pretty sure that was exactly what she looked like. Her hair must have been a mess and she was sure there was still soot and dried blood all over her face. She was in desperate need of a shower and a change of clothes and couldn’t understand how anyone could find her attractive at the moment.

She walked into the restroom and went straight for the sink, not daring to look into the mirror until she had washed her face. She splashed her face with water before drying it off with a paper towel. She yawned before finally looking up into the mirror.

Her eyes went wide, her mouth dropped and suddenly she was wide awake as familiar blue eyes stared back at her through the mirror. Vic closed her eyes again and took a deep breath before opening them again, looking into the mirror, hoping that her mind was just playing tricks on her but no such luck. Blue eyes were still staring back at her instead of her brown ones and she didn’t quite understand what the hell was going on. Was she still asleep and dreaming? 

She touched her cheek and instead of soft skin there was a beard which felt really soft against her big, rough hand. She couldn’t help but run her fingers through her blonde locks which were just as soft as she had imagined.

She let her eyes wander over her body and had to admit that she was quite impressed and suddenly it made perfect sense why all the nurses were checking her out and smiling at her. They weren’t thinking that  _ she _ was attractive, they thought that Ripley was because for some reason Vic was currently occupying the body of her bosses’ boss’ boss and she had no idea how that had happened.

She also realized that she was in the ladies room and had to get out of there before someone called security on her for being a perv. 

She left the restroom as quickly as possible not paying attention to where she was going when she bumped into someone. Vic instinctively reached out to steady the person and looked down to find warm brown eyes staring up at her in shock and wonder. 

“Hughes?” She heard her own voice and exhaled sharply.

“Chief Ripley, hello,” she replied in his voice as they just stared at each other like the night before, neither understanding what the hell was going on or how they were stuck in each other’s bodies. 


	2. Gameplan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic and Ripley are trying to figure a few things out about their current situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who read the story and left comments and kudos. I'm so glad you are enjoying it. Hope you enjoy the new chapter as well.

Lucas woke from a dreamless sleep, stretching his muscles, feeling sore but surprisingly not as sore as he thought he’d be after spending the night sleeping in a hospital chair. He was glad that it was his day off because he was in desperate need of it.

The beeping of a monitor caught his attention and he was surprised to find himself inside Montgomery’s room. The young firefighter was intubated and hooked up to machines. Lucas was happy to see that his heartbeat was strong and steady. He sighed in relief because he hated losing firefighters especially the ones he was really fond of and Montgomery certainly was one of those.

He was about to check the time when a nurse walked into the room. “So glad you’re awake,” she smiled sympathetically.

“Look, I know that he is your best friend and you wanted to stay with him and we made an exception last night but you really need to leave now. You can come back later during visiting hours,” she explained and Lucas stared at her in confusion. 

_ Best friend? What was she talking about? _

“Miss Hughes, did you hear me?” The nurse asked and Lucas furrowed his forehead.

“What did you just call me?” He asked.

“Oh, right. I forgot that you asked to be called Vic. You really need to leave now. Come back later,” she repeated and Lucas left the room.

The nurse must have been confused or maybe he misheard. He yawned, covering his mouth with his hand when he realized that his skin was smooth, no traces of a beard. He looked at his hand which was delicate and soft and a beautiful shade of caramel. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again, hoping that he was just seeing things because of exhaustion but his hands were still not his and neither was his face or his hair.

He was afraid to look down at his body because he had a terrible feeling which would certainly explain what had just happened with the nurse. He swallowed before taking another deep breath and then checked the name tag on his uniform and just as he feared instead of Ripley, it said Hughes.

Lucas gasped. Was he intoxicated? Had someone given him something while he was sleeping and he was hallucinating? He needed to find a restroom before someone saw him or well, her.

He caught sight of a restroom sign and walked towards it. He was almost there when the door swung open and someone bumped into him. He already saw himself lying on the floor when the stranger grabbed him by his arms to keep him steady. When he looked up he was shocked to come face to face with himself.

“Hughes?” He spoke, hearing her soft voice.

“Chief Ripley, hello,” she replied looking just as shocked as he was.

Before Lucas knew what was going on, Hughes shoved him into the janitors closet across from the restroom and locked the door.

“You can’t ever do this again,” he bellowed as she looked at him in confusion. “You can’t just have  _ me _ shove  _ you _ into a closet like that. People would get the wrong idea if they saw us,” he explained.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I panicked. I didn’t know what else to do,” she started pacing inside the small space, making him nervous. “What is going on? Why am I you and you are me? How is this possible? Is this a dream?” She asked a million questions and Lucas didn’t have the answer to a single one of them.

She was starting to make him nervous. “Hughes, will you please stop pacing and just take a deep breath?”

“Take a deep breath? Really? That’s your solution?” She yelled at him which had become a regular thing it seemed. He was starting to get used to it.

“You really need to stop yelling at me,” he quirked an eyebrow, smirking at her and she finally stopped pacing. “We are in this together, whatever this is. Okay?”

She nodded before groaning.

“Okay, first we need to get out of the hospital before anyone sees us. We need to find a quiet place where we can talk and figure this out,” Lucas kept a cool head. One of them had to. They couldn’t both panic.

“We could go to my place,” she offered awkwardly. “It’s not far from here.”

Lucas knew many reasons why that was a bad idea but right now that was their best option to talk about this in private.

He nodded as she gave him her address. “The keys are in your left pocket. You should leave first,” she suggested. “I’ll be right behind you. See you at my place,” he nodded and left the closet and walked to her place.

He wasn’t quite sure what he expected her apartment to look like, not that he had ever thought about it in the first place, but he didn’t quite expect it to be such a mess with her clothes scattered across the floor, including her bras which he tried to ignore. He also noticed several empty pizza boxes and beer and vodka bottles lying around and couldn’t help but wonder and worry.

He sighed, rubbing his beard, totally forgetting that he no longer had one, waiting for Hughes to arrive and eventually explain.  
  


* * *

  
Vic felt weird knocking on her own door. In hindsight, she wasn’t sure if it was the best idea to meet at her place. If anyone saw Chief Ripley at her place there was no explaining it away. No one would believe that they were meeting to talk about a body swap situation or maybe they would and lock them both up. Most people would just assume that they were sleeping together and both their jobs would be on the line and she couldn’t lose her job.

She sighed as Ripley finally opened the door and let her in. She groaned when she saw the state of her apartment, feeling embarrassed that it was such a mess when it usually wasn’t.

“I’m really sorry about the mess, sir. I’m not a slob. I was just busy and didn’t have time to clean up.”

“I wasn’t judging you, Hughes,” he replied, making Vic raise her eyebrows in disbelief. “Okay, maybe I was judging you just a little bit and well, I guess I’m a bit concerned,” he pointed at the empty bottles.

“What? Oh my God, no. I’m not a drunk. I promise. I had my team over the other night and we had some fun obviously and I really just didn’t have time to clean up. I swear,” she explained.

“Um, we should probably go into the kitchen. We can sit there and I can make us some coffee,” he nodded and followed her.

She grabbed the coffee pot and walked out of the kitchen into her bathroom to fill it with water before returning, Ripley staring at her in confusion.

“Um, there is something wrong with the water tap, so I have to use the one in the bathroom,” she explained as she quickly made them some coffee before sitting down.

“So,” they both said in unison and chuckled.

“I take it calling in sick for the time being is not an option,” she wondered.

He chuckled. “I wish but if we were both on sick leave that would probably be a bit suspicious and we can’t have that,” Vic nodded. “I think we will just have to play along.”

Vic laughed but he didn’t. “Oh, you are being serious? So, I’m just going to be doing your job now?”

“Well, you did tell me that I’m doing a crappy job as the chief, here is your chance to do it better,” he challenged her.

Vic crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I’m sure I could handle it,” she countered.

“I don’t doubt that for a second,” Vic looked at him in surprise. “But I still can’t let you do it.” 

He pondered for a moment. “Seeing as 19 currently doesn’t have a captain, I think it’s best if I or well you act as interim captain for the time being. That way we both get to be at the station together.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, Captain Herrera is currently in the hospital, getting treatment for his cancer,” Vic gasped. “You didn’t know?” she shook her head. 

“What about Andy and Jack?”

“Captain Herrera was right. Neither Herrera nor Gibson are ready yet,” Vic looked at him, slightly shocked because she never expected Pruitt to vote against his own daughter. “I already said too much. This is not something I should be discussing with you. It’s a good thing for our predicament though. It’s the best way to control this situation.”

“You really like being in control, don’t you?” She huffed.

“Well, it’s part of my job. If I don’t control the situation then people might die.”

“No need to remind me. My best friend is lying in the hospital right now,” Vic looked away from him, feeling herself getting angry again.

“You may not believe me but I  _ am _ sorry about Montgomery,” Vic looked up at him, staring into her own eyes and she could tell that he meant it.

“I believe you,” she smiled weakly before changing the subject. “What about living arrangements?” 

He started rubbing his jaw before sighing and dropping his hand from his face. “Missing your beard?” Vic looked at him in amusement.

Ripley chuckled. “Yeah, it’s weird to have perfectly smooth skin instead of a scruffy beard,” he admitted. Vic ignored the compliment.

“It’s actually not as scruffy as I thought it would be,” she said absentmindedly, watching him quirk an eyebrow at her. She realized what she had said and blushed. “Not that I ever thought about what your beard would feel like or anything,” she explained, making him chuckle.

“Relax, Hughes. So back to your question. Obviously, we can’t live together and well, you can’t stay at your place looking like me,” Vic nodded. “I think it’s best if I stay here and you stay at my place for the time being.” 

“Sounds good. What about your family? I won’t come home and find a wife there, will I? Or maybe even your mom,” Vic joked.

“No parents and no wife. I live by myself,” he said somewhat sadly. Vic knew there was a story there but it really wasn’t her place to ask. “I really only have my sister and we are close,” he admitted. “We talk a lot, so she will probably call you.”

“Call me? So, you want me to keep your phone?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be wise for me to use Chief Ripley’s phone while I’m you or for Chief Ripley to use Victoria Hughes’ phone,” he explained.

“I guess. So what do I do when your sister calls me?” 

“Just tell her you’re fine but busy. She will understand.” Vic nodded, hoping that his sister wouldn’t call.

“What if someone from the department calls?” 

“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. Don’t worry about it,” he assured her. “What about you? What about your family? Any roommates or anything?”

“Um, my parents and I are not really close, so they won’t be calling or texting you and I have no siblings. No roommates either, not married. In fact, I don’t even have a boyfriend,” she blurted out the last part without knowing exactly why. It’s not something he needed to know.

“Really? Why not?” He asked curiously.

“Um,...”

“Sorry, that was inappropriate. It’s none of my business,” he apologized.

“Don’t worry about it,” Vic assured him.

Ripley nodded. “We should probably swap credit cards. I shouldn’t be using yours and you shouldn’t be using mine,” he suggested.

Vic chuckled. “Afraid I’m going to spend all your money,” she joked, making him laugh.

“That’s what my ex-wives are there for,” he countered.

“Ex-wives as in plural? So, I guess marriage just isn't such a serious thing for you.” 

“Look, the first time around, I thought I was very serious, but we were really young, and it fizzled fast. The second time, I... I felt good about Eva, but by the end, I'm not even sure that she liked me,” he admitted honestly, surprising Vic. She didn’t expect him to answer her.

“Ouch,” he nodded. 

“Yeah. Now, marriage number three -- that I would take very seriously. I wouldn't be game unless I knew it was really right,” he confessed and Vic could feel her cheeks burn and she couldn’t really explain why. Maybe it was the way he was looking at her. She could see loneliness and regret in his eyes but also hope.

She looked away from him, rubbing her beard before she realized what she was doing and dropped her hand. She heard him chuckle.

“You’ll get used to it,” he said.

“I hope not because that means we’ll be stuck in each other's body for a while. I don’t think either one of us wants that, right?”

“Right,” he agreed.

“You know, in movies sometimes...“ Vic started but immediately stopped, not finishing the sentence.

“In movies, what?”

“Nothing, forget it. It was just a stupid thought. Don’t mind me,” she wanted to sink into the ground. Why did she have to open her big mouth?

“Come on, Hughes. Don’t hold out on me now. If you have a solution for our predicament, tell me.”

“It wouldn’t work anyway. Just forget that I said anything.”

“Why wouldn’t it work? And what exactly is  _ it _ ?“ Ripley wanted to know.

“I told you to forget it,” she repeated.

“What if it does work? We could be back to normal in no time. Come on, just tell me what it is,” he wouldn’t stop and insisted on an explanation.

“A kiss! Okay. I was talking about a kiss,” his jaw dropped and his eyes widened and it was pretty hilarious to Vic to see his reaction on her own face. “So, like I said, forget it. It was a stupid idea.”

He nodded. “But...” he started and Vic furrowed her forehead. “No, you’re right. It probably wouldn’t work. True Love’s Kiss only works if two people love each other,” Vic looked at him in surprise that he even knew such a thing, “and the last time I checked you hated me.”

“Well, you threatened to fire me,“ Vic yelled.

“You had it coming,” he countered. “You yelled at me and you’re doing it again.”

“Well, it’s not my fault.”

“Who’s fault is it? Mine? I mean everything seems to be my fault in your eyes,” he yelled back.

“It is your fault because you bring out this side in me. I’m usually not like this,” he quirked an eyebrow and smirked, obviously not believing her. “I’m not!”

“If you say so,” he chuckled. “Maybe our kiss could be a True Hate’s Kiss,” he joked and Vic couldn’t help but laugh.

Vic bit her lip as they stared at each other. “I guess there would be no harm in trying. I mean it wouldn’t be a real kiss. It would be like kissing yourself in the mirror.”

Ripley nodded in agreement.

Vic took a deep breath before leaning in when suddenly she started giggling before bursting into laughter because of how weird all this was.

“Seriously?” Ripley rolled his eyes.

“I’m sorry but this is so weird. I mean I’m about to kiss myself.”

“Just close your eyes,” he suggested and Vic nodded before closing her eyes and leaning in again. “Oww! Watch your nose!” He complained.

Vic withdrew and opened her eyes to look at him. “My nose? This is your nose and I’m just trying to navigate this thing.”

“This thing? Are you calling my nose big?” He asked mock-hurt as Vic shrugged. 

“Well, take it as a compliment. You know what they say about guys with big noses,” she blurted out without thinking.

Did she really just make a penis joke? And suddenly it dawned on Vic that she would actually see his penis the next time she used the restroom and he would see her naked as well and she blushed. How the hell did she end up in this mess?

“Hughes? Are you okay?” He asked, looking slightly worried.

“What?”

“Where did you go just now?” He wondered.

Vic just stared at him, blushing profusely. She couldn’t possibly tell him what she had been thinking about.

“Can we just get this over with?,” she asked as he nodded.

“You’re such a romantic, Hughes,” he teased before gently taking her face in his hands, making her breath hitch. “Close your eyes,” he instructed. “I don’t want you to laugh again.”

Vic closed her eyes and a second later she felt his, well her own lips brush against hers, well his lips. It only lasted for a few seconds and it was definitely not what she had expected but then again she had never expected to kiss herself or Chief Ripley for that matter.

“Anything?” He wondered and Vic shook her head. “Me neither.”

“This was weird, right? I mean it wasn’t just weird for me. It was weird for you too, right?”

Ripley nodded. “Definitely,” he agreed. 

“So, is that all?” Vic asked.

Ripley scratched his head. “Well, there is one more thing. Um, just so you know I will be respectful.” 

“Respectful? What are you talking about?” Vic asked, confused.

He cleared his throat, looking slightly flushed. “Since we are in each other’s bodies, it’s inevitable that well, you know...”

And suddenly it dawned on Vic what he was talking about. The same thing that she had thought about just a moment ago.

“I guess in a way I’m asking for your consent.” 

Vic studied him. “This is really important to you,” she noted.

“Yeah, it is. I’m the chief and you’re… you’re you.”

Vic smiled. “It’s a weird situation for both of us and as you said it’s inevitable unless we don’t plan on showering or using the toilet for the next few days, weeks or maybe even months which is impossible. So, it’s okay. I’m consenting. I’m the definition of consent,” she assured him, making him chuckle.

“Thank you, Hughes.”

“You’re welcome,” Vic exhaled sharply. “So, that’s it for now?”

He nodded. “My car is still at the hospital. The keys are in your pocket,” he wrote down his address and alarm code and gave her a few more instructions before Vic left.

On her way to his place, she couldn’t help but wonder why this was happening to them. In movies there usually was a point to this kinda thing. Were they supposed to learn a lesson? Was it about understanding each other better? What if they stayed like this forever? 

She parked the Chief’s car in front of his building and walked up to his apartment, sighing as she entered her new home for the unforeseeable future. 

“Home sweet home, I guess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think ;)


	3. Getting acquainted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic and Ripley explore their new homes and discover a few new things about the other person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for reading and enjoying this story. I have so many fun things coming that hopefully you all will enjoy and love.
> 
> I originally planned to add another scene to this chapter but it was already getting long so I decided to have that part in the next chapter.

Vic groaned as she woke up from the weirdest dream ever. She had no idea why her mind had conjured up something as strange as her and Ripley swapping bodies but she was glad that it had only been a dream. Just the idea of living inside of Ripley’s body was just ridiculous.

She laughed as she got up from the couch only to realize that she wasn’t at home. She furrowed her forehead in confusion.

_ Where the hell am I _ , she wondered as she walked around the unfamiliar apartment with a bad feeling that was confirmed the moment she stopped in front of a mirror and saw Ripley staring back at her and it all came back to her. 

_ Damn, it wasn’t a dream _ , she sighed as she remembered coming home to his apartment and passing out on the couch, dead tired from the previous night. Images of Travis flooded her mind and she didn’t want to think about him and what had happened. She was too angry. She needed a distraction, so she decided to explore her new home.

The first thing she noticed was that his loft was super clean and tidy and it made her wonder if he had a maid to take care of it or if he was just a neat freak. She could definitely see him as a neat freak if she was honest which made her feel even more embarrassed about her messy living room. She wished she had cleaned up after the little party with her team but instead they had fallen asleep and just left for work the next day without cleaning up.

Vic sighed as she continued her little tour. She really loved the high ceilings, gorgeous dark wooden floors and white brick walls. The fireplace was definitely a chick magnet and Vic couldn’t deny that she hoped to try it out sometime. Her favorite thing though were the big windows that gave her a beautiful view of the city. She couldn’t wait to see it at night with all the lights on.

There were several shelves with hundreds of books, so it didn’t surprise Vic that there was no TV at his place. She took a closer look and noticed that the books were all sorted by genre and in alphabetical order and that he had quite the collection of romance novels which she didn’t expect at all. Part of her wondered if he really read those or if they were just there for the women he brought home to impress them.

His kitchen was big and luxurious. She had never seen a kitchen like that before and wondered if Ripley knew how to cook. It would be a waste to have such a kitchen and never use it and it made Vic wish that she knew how to cook because she sure would have fun in a kitchen like that, in more ways than one. Her favorite things were the breakfast counter and the espresso machine that she couldn’t wait to try out.

She made her way into his bedroom, feeling slightly weird to be there. It had the same big windows as the living room, including a sitting window that Vic fell in love with immediately and felt was perfect for rainy days, just sitting there with a good book and hot chocolate. She also couldn’t help but imagine having sex there with the whole city in front of her. She wondered if Ripley had ever done that. It sure would be a thrill.

She shook that thought from her mind though and continued her journey and discovered a walk-in closet. It was organized which didn’t surprise her what did however surprise her was his huge collection of sweaters in all colors. She never saw Ripley as a sweater guy, maybe blazers but not sweaters. She had to admit that she couldn’t wait to try them on which also reminded her that she was in desperate need of a shower.

She stood in front of the mirror as she took off the shirt and unconsciously licked her lips at the sight of her boss shirtless. For a guy his age, he was pretty fit. She let her eyes wander over his defined chest and toned abs and discovered a few scars. One on his stomach, another one on his left arm and another one on his shoulder. She wondered how and when he had gotten those. She took off the pants and chuckled when she discovered the smiley boxer shorts underneath, realizing that Ripley was full of surprises. 

She removed the socks before finally taking off the last piece of clothing, her mouth hanging open at the sight of his long, thick penis. She couldn’t help but blush and smile at the same time because under different circumstances, she’d totally date Ripley or at least have sex with him because if he was already that impressive while soft she could only imagine what he’d look like while fully hard.

It dawned on Vic that there was a chance that she would experience that eventually and it reminded her of Ripley’s promise that he would be respectful in regards to her body and here she was staring at him and wondering things she shouldn’t but at the same time no woman had ever been in this situation before or would ever be able to experience this, so it was natural to be curious about it. 

It also made her wonder if he had ever been with one of his female firefighters. The way he had been worried about seeing her naked and even asked for her permission made Vic think that he hadn’t. He seemed like a standup guy but that didn’t mean that he had never been attracted to one of his female firefighters. 

Vic couldn’t help but wonder what he would feel upon seeing her naked or was he going to blindfold himself while showering so he couldn’t see her. That thought made Vic laugh because she could definitely see him do just that.

She tore her eyes away from his body and walked into the bathroom, feeling slightly weird with his thing dangling between her legs. She did her best to ignore it and instead took in his bathroom which was equipped with a shower and bathtub and for a second she wondered if it would be weird if Chief Ripley took a bubble bath. She only had a shower in her own apartment, so she would definitely take advantage of his bathtub at some point but she figured for now a shower was all that she needed. 

Through first she had to use the toilet and if she was honest, she always wanted to know what it would feel like to pee standing up and she discovered that it was just as amazing as she had always imagined. 

_ Men have it so easy _ , she thought, ignoring the fact that she had just held Ripley’s penis in her hands. All she could think about was that it was so much easier than going to the toilet as a woman.

She took a quick shower and washed her hair, discovering that he only used one product for everything and once again she chuckled at how easy guys had it, especially white ones. She had a million products for her hair alone and here he was with one product for his hair, body and face. She groaned at the thought of how much money she would save if she only needed one product for everything and didn’t need skin care or make-up.

After her shower, she dried off and put on a pair of sweats and his old crew shirt from 88 wondering for a second what that shirt would look like on her own body but she immediately dismissed that thought because her mind should really not be going there.

She walked into the kitchen and made herself some coffee when the phone rang and she hoped that it wasn’t his sister because she really wasn’t in the mood to talk to her right now.

She checked the display and was surprised to see Dr. Bailey, Ben’s wife, calling. She wondered what that was all about and finally picked up.

“Chief Ripley speaking,” she hoped that this was how he usually answered his phone.

“Chief Ripley, hello. I’m glad you picked up. I tried calling you earlier but you must have been busy,” the doctor told him and she must have called while Vic was sleeping. She hadn’t bothered to check the phone after waking up, too curious to explore the apartment.

“I apologize. I fell asleep and didn’t hear it,” she explained.

“Don’t worry about it. I know how exhausting yesterday must have been. I’m just calling with the usual updates on your people. I know that you like being in the loop about their well-being,” Dr. Bailey said and Vic suddenly felt awful. This was obviously not the first time Dr. Bailey had called him with updates on his firefighters and it made Vic realize that he did in fact care about his people. “Chief Ripley, are you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. Go ahead.”

“Herrera and Gibson are fine and can go back to work. Larson has a couple of broken ribs while Ortiz broke his hand, so they are out for a couple of weeks. As for Montgomery,” she started and Vic’s heart stopped.

“We managed to repair the damages to his heart and he should make a full recovery,” Vic let out a sigh of relief. “He will stay in the hospital for about a week and will need another five to six weeks before he can go back to work but he is out of the woods.”

Vic was so happy to hear that, that she almost started crying but she managed to control herself. “Thank you, Dr. Bailey.”

“You know I’ve been doing this job for a long time and I’ve seen many Fire Chief’s come and go but you are something else,” she told Vic, making her chuckle.

“I hope that’s a good thing,” Vic wondered.

“It is. I’m glad that my husband has a boss who actually gives a damn. So, thank you, Chief. I’m sorry, I gotta go back to work. Have a nice evening.”

“You too, Dr. Bailey,” Vic hung up and felt even worse than a minute ago because she really did Ripley wrong when she accused him of not caring. He definitely deserved an apology.

But before that could happen, she heard her stomach growl and realized that she hadn’t eaten in over 24 hours, so she peaked into his fridge, hoping to find something she liked in there, groaning when she noticed that while the fridge was full, all of it had to be prepared and cooked and she wasn’t much of a cook. At least it answered the question whether or not Ripley could cook. 

_ Maybe someday he can cook for her _ , her traitorous mind thought and Vic reprimanded herself for it. She needed to get those thoughts out of her head.

She decided to order some takeout and as she was about to call her favorite restaurant, she heard a knock at the door.

_ Who could it be _ , she wondered as she walked to the front door and opened it, surprised to find herself standing there.  
  


* * *

  
Lucas sighed as Hughes left her apartment, leaving him by himself. It was weird that he would be living at her place for the unforeseeable future and even weirder that he would be living inside her body which he was about to get to know in a very intimate way like he had never before with one of his female firefighters.

For almost twenty years he had managed to never get involved with another firefighter, had never wanted to since no one ever interested him enough to go there and now he was in this strange situation with a woman that he was attracted to. She was an unranked, much younger firefighter and the way she didn’t seem to be the least bit intimidated by him when she spoke her mind and yelled at him during peer reviews had left him impressed and with a little crush on her.

Of course, Lucas couldn’t deny that Hughes was a beautiful woman but it was her big mouth and personality that peaked his interest and made him want to get to know her better and now he had the chance but in a whole new and different way and he was not sure how to handle this situation. He may have gotten her consent but it would still be weird to see her naked for the first time without her present. That’s definitely not how he would have like that to happen.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes, feeling tired but considering all the things he had to take care of to make Ripley’s interim captain stint at 19 run smoothly there was no way he could go to sleep. 

He got up to make himself some coffee, groaning because he had already forgotten that her water tap wasn’t working. He had to fix that at some point he thought as he walked into her bedroom which was clean and tidy unlike her living room. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been inside a woman’s bedroom and it wasn’t because he usually took women back to his place but because he hadn’t been on a date in a very long time.

He ignored the urge to just fall into bed and sleep for the next couple of weeks and instead walked into her bathroom and was surprised by the bright orange walls. He had kinda expected something dark if he was honest. She seemed quite moody or maybe that was indeed his effect on her as she had accused him earlier.

Her bathroom was quite small and only had a shower and Lucas was shocked at how many products she had lying around. Upon closer inspection, he realized that there was only one body product and the rest was all hair care and he wondered why women needed that many products just for their hair especially when it was pulled back in a bun or in braids all day long.

He found several bottles, pots and vials of skin care and make-up and he didn’t understand why Hughes needed any of that. She was probably the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and would probably save a lot of money if she didn’t use all that stuff.

He put the coffee pot aside and stared into the mirror, noticing that there was still dried blood and soot on her face and he really felt like a shower would do him good. He unbraided the hair which took several minutes before taking off the uniform without looking at Hughes’ body and hopped into the shower. He grabbed the first bottle he could find and washed his face, body and hair, inhaling the scent, a mix of vanilla and something else that he didn’t recognize but it was quite intoxicating and reminded him of Hughes.

Lucas did his best to be respectful just as he had promised and showered in record time without letting his hands linger for too long. He wrapped a towel around his hips as usual before realizing that he was no longer a guy.

He wrapped a towel around her entire body and another around her hair before looking into the mirror, noticing a difference. Her eyebrows and lashes didn’t look quite as full and dark as before, her cheeks weren’t as rosy and her skin looked slightly uneven with a pimple on her chin. Lucas realized that she must have been wearing some make-up that wasn’t noticeable to someone like him who had no idea about those kinds of things but even so it still didn’t change the fact that Hughes was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on.

He stopped staring at Hughes' face before filling the coffee pot with water and walking into her bedroom. He stopped in front of her drawer and pulled out a pair of panties, ignoring the fact that she had them in all colors and shapes and different fabric. He found the matching bra and tried to put it on but to no avail. As it turned out, taking off a bra was much easier than actually putting one on. He gave up after a couple of tries since he figured that he was at home anyway but he would have to figure out how to put it on eventually since he couldn’t go to work without one on. 

He put on a pair of leggings and a tank top and checked himself in the mirror and groaned at the sight. 

Hughes was in great shape and had a great body and Lucas was currently being everything but respectful as he was basically drooling over how hot she looked in that tight outfit. He reprimanded himself before returning to the kitchen to get some work done.

Two hours and several coffees later, he had managed to email his assistant and battalion chief’s with instructions for the next couple of weeks and he had also told his assistant that Hughes’ would pop by to grab the paperwork for him and he had done all that on Hughes’ phone and felt like his fingers were about to fall off. He desperately needed his laptop which was at his apartment of course but more importantly, he realized that he really needed some sleep. 

He dragged his tired feet into her bedroom, set the alarm and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

When he woke up a couple of hours later, he felt refreshed but also hungry but as he looked into her fridge, he was shocked to discover that all it had to offer was some leftover takeout, which he was scared to open if he was honest and several frozen meals that he was not a fan of. There was also ice cream and cake and Lucas wondered how Hughes was able to maintain a figure like hers while eating all that junk.

He sighed as he grabbed her car keys and left the apartment. He figured he could just stop at the grocery store after picking up his laptop from his apartment.

When he finally arrived at his place, he wondered if he should just use the spare key but decided against it and instead knocked. 

A moment later, she opened the door and stared at him in shock.

“What the hell did you do to my hair?” She yelled, her eyes threatening to fall out of their sockets.


	4. Dinner For Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic fixes "Ripley's" hair and Ripley makes dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so happy you guys are enjoying this story so far. Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Vic stared at the state of her hair in absolute horror. It was puffy and super frizzy and she was pretty sure that some of it was missing.

“What the hell did you do to my hair?” She yelled at Ripley before pulling him inside the apartment, forgetting her own strength inside his body.

“I told you to not do that again,” he reprimanded her.

“There is nobody here,” she rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry, okay? So, what happened to my hair?”

“I washed it,” Vic ignored the fact that this meant that he had seen her naked.

“I can see that. What did you wash it with?”

“With one of those million bottles that you had lying around,” he rolled his eyes, making Vic growl.

“You’ve obviously never dated a black woman,” Vic rolled her eyes again.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you obviously don’t understand that my hair and your hair are different and you can’t treat it the same way. There is a reason why there are a million bottles of hair product in my bathroom. It takes a lot of work and product to make my hair look shiny and healthy. You can’t just wash it and put it in a towel and not bother with it otherwise.”

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry,” he apologized.

“Do you have any organic coconut oil?” She asked and he nodded before walking into the kitchen to grab a jar.

Vic took it from him and sat down on his couch, motioning for him to sit down in front of her.

“Excuse me?” He asked, confused.

“I need to fix my hair. I won’t let you leave this place, looking like that,” she motioned again for him to sit down in front of her.

“You’re being serious,” he raised an eyebrow.

“As a heart attack. Now sit down and let me braid your hair.”

He chuckled. “Now that’s an offer I never had before,” he joked.

Vic laughed as he sat down on the floor between her legs and it was weird to say the least. It was also weird to do her own hair but as someone else. This whole situation was really one of a kind. If she had ever had to experience a body switch with the opposite sex she would have liked that to be with Travis but here she was inside Ripley’s body braiding her own hair.

_ Could this day get any stranger? _ , she thought.

Vic started to work the oil into her hair and scalp, massaging it and she could tell that he was definitely enjoying it if the little moans escaping his mouth were any indication. She started braiding the hair while giving her boss a crash course in hair care for black natural hair and much to her surprise, he listened attentively and even asked questions when he didn’t understand something. 

“I really didn’t realize how much work it is and I take it those products aren’t exactly cheap.”

“No, they are quite expensive actually but I have to use them to prevent breakage and hair loss. It’s very important that you don’t forget to moisturize. It would be nice to still have hair when I’m back in my own body,” she told him as she finished the braids.

“There, all done!” She said as her stomach grumbled. “Damn, I was about to order food when you knocked. I totally forgot about that.”

“Order food?” He looked perplexed as he got up from the floor. “What for? The fridge is fully stocked. You’ve got plenty to eat in there.”

“Yeah, but I need to cook it and I don’t know how to cook to save my life. My parents always tease me about it since they are both cooks. And while I could make myself a salad, this day requires more than just a salad,” Ripley laughed at her rant.

“How about I cook for us?” Vic raised an eyebrow. “Or just for you. I wasn’t trying to invite myself over,” he assured her as his stomach grumbled as well.

Vic chuckled. “I take it you haven’t eaten either.”

“No, since all I could find in your fridge were frozen meals and I don’t eat that stuff,” he explained.

“Well, if you really want to cook, be my guest,” Vic couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re really funny, Hughes,” he rolled his eyes as he walked into the kitchen and washed his hands before getting the ingredients out of the fridge. 

“So, what are you making?” Vic wondered.

“You mean, what are  _ we _ making,” he corrected her as he handed her an apron.

“We? You want me to cook? So, how are you going to explain me being at your place when I burn your kitchen down and someone from the fire department sees me here?”

“First of all, you’re not going to burn anything down,” Vic huffed. “Secondly, I was told that I’m a great teacher. And last but not least, you have to learn how to cook because you can’t feed my body the crap you usually eat.”

“That crap as you call it is actually really yummy,” she defended herself.

“Well, that crap might kill me seeing as I’m not the youngest and shouldn’t be eating processed food,” he explained and Vic understood. It was kinda like with her hair. She had to be careful or she could do serious damage to his body.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t consider that. I can basically eat anything.”

“Well, that might change once you're my age,” Vic nodded. “Okay, first wash your hands and then you can take care of the vegetables. Do you prefer steak or fish?”

Vic thought for a second. “Um, I think I’m gonna go with the steak.”

She watched him as he worked and explained to her how to season a steak while she chopped the veggies. She was quite impressed with his skills but also weirded out to watch herself cook. 

“So, how come you know how to cook? Is it just because it’s healthier?”

“Um, no,” his features changed and Vic felt like she might have hit a sore subject.

“You don’t have to tell me. It’s not important.”

“No, it’s fine. I just don’t usually talk about it. When I was a freshman in college, my parents died and my little sister was only twelve, so I had to take care of her and well, I couldn’t feed her junk food the entire time, so I learned how to cook.”

Vic looked at him in awe. “Wow, that sounds like a lot to deal with at eighteen. I mean you were basically a kid yourself. Probably wasn’t easy having to take care of your sister when all your college friends were partying and stuff. Is that why you and your sister are so close?”

Ripley nodded. “It wasn’t easy and I had to grow up really fast but I love Jennifer and would have done anything for her. I wanted to give her a good childhood and home and thankfully I wasn’t alone. My best friend Sully and his...” he paused for a moment and Vic could see sadness on his face but it was gone almost immediately and he smiled again but it didn’t reach his eyes. “My best friend Sully and his girlfriend Claire helped. I was really grateful that Jennifer had a woman in her life who helped her with stuff that her big brother couldn’t help her with.”

“Knowing what it feels like to be a woman would have come in handy,” Vic joked, making him laugh.

“Very true. It’s still weird to be… you.”

“Like it’s not weird being you,” Vic countered.

“I’m sure it is,” he chuckled. “So, how come your parents never taught you how to cook?”

Vic smiled sadly, wondering if she should answer but he just shared something very personal with her so why shouldn’t she. 

“They just didn’t have the time to do it. My parents own a restaurant, which has never been successful enough for them to even hire anyone else to help them run it. So, when I want to see them, I go there. Even when I was a kid, when I wanted to see them, I went there,” she answered sadly. “My grandma raised me but the only thing she taught me was singing.”

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You sing?”

“Yeah. I went to college on a singing scholarship. Do you sing?”

“A little bit. I’m not that good though. I do play the guitar though. There is one in my bedroom.”

“Really? I didn't see one,” Vic always wanted to learn how to play the guitar and this might be her chance.

“It’s underneath the bed. I haven’t played in forever,” he told her. “How come you became a firefighter when you could have been a singer?”

“Who said I was any good?” Vic joked not sure she wanted to tell him the real reason.

“You don’t get scholarships for being bad at something.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“I mean, you don’t have to tell me if it’s personal.”

“Singing was something I did with my grandma and I was working on this big musical when she died and I had a hard time really finding joy in singing and dancing but my teacher Cooper said that I could do both. Be sad for my grandma and still dance and sing and so I did and it helped. A couple of weeks later during the dress rehearsal, there was a fire and the theater burned down and...” Vic could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks, “... and Cooper tried to save this old piano, that fool, and I tried to save him but Captain Herrera dragged me out of there and my teacher died. I finished college and while singing is still a part of my life and a hobby, I didn’t want to make it my career anymore. It took me about a year to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and then I bumped into Captain Herrera again and I guess I just felt like I wanted to make a difference and wanted to help people and I signed up at the academy the next day.”

“Wow,” he simply replied.

“Yeah. What about you? How did you become a firefighter?”

“My dad was a firefighter and so was his dad. So, it’s a family thing.”

“So, you’d probably want your son to become a firefighter too,” Vic asked curiously.

“I don’t have any kids,” he replied sadly and it was clear to Vic that it’s definitely something he wanted.

“You can still have them,” Vic suggested.

“I’ve kinda given up on that.”

“What? Why? You’re hot. If the way the nurses at the hospital looked at you is any indication you’d easily find yourself a wife and have kids with her,” Vic watched him blush and realized what she had just said. “Um, I mean. You know… ugh, what the hell, I ain’t blind and you are a good looking guy.”

“Well, I was married twice and thought that was in the cards for me but it didn’t work out.”

“Then you just had the wrong wives. Let me guess, they probably didn’t understand you or your job,” Ripley nodded. “Have you considered dating a firefighter?”

Ripley chuckled. “As the Chief, I’m not allowed to date anyone if I outrank them and well, seeing as I’m the big boss, I outrank everyone.”

“That really sucks because with a job like ours, you need someone who will understand and can relate,” he nodded in agreement. “And there is no way at all? I mean what if you were to fall in love with someone from the department? You’d just ignore that?”

“Um,...” he started blushing. “It doesn’t really matter what I feel. I can’t act on those feelings and I think we should change the subject because this is not an appropriate conversation.”

“I guess you’re right. Though can I ask just one question?” She could see the wheels in his head turning before giving in and nodding his head. “Was there ever anyone you felt attracted to?”

He blushed even harder and Vic had her answer. “Yes and that’s all I’m gonna say,” Vic smiled and wondered who that woman was. Who was interesting enough to have caught Ripley’s attention? He was apparently hard to impress. Was it recent or a while ago? 

“Stop thinking about who it is,” he said and Vic raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“How did you?” She wondered, making him laugh.

“Your poker face sucks,” Vic laughed. 

“You mean,  _ your _ poker face sucks,” she countered.

“Well, since it’s you operating my face at the moment it’s you whose poker face sucks,” he chuckled. “Also, food is almost ready. You wanna eat here or upstairs?”

Vic stared at him in curiosity. “Upstairs?”

He nodded. “Yeah, there is a stairwell up to the roof. It’s between the kitchen and bedroom,” he explained.

“How did I miss that?” She asked in wonder, realizing that she hadn’t discovered everything that his apartment had to offer.

“It’s kinda hidden. So, I take it you wanna go upstairs?” Vic nodded enthusiastically as he prepared two plates. “Grab a Cabernet from the wine rack and the wine glasses are right next to it,” he instructed as Vic grabbed the wine and glasses.

He took the plates and motioned for her to follow him.

They climbed the stairs and Vic wasn’t sure what exactly to expect when he turned on the lights, illuminating the entire rooftop, taking Vic’s breath away.

She gasped at the sight. She was surrounded by beautiful, colorful flowers and small trees. There was a green area with grass, a huge hammock that could easily fit two people and a porch swing that Vic couldn’t wait to try out. On the other side, there was a wooden floor, two benches and a table to sit on and relax. 

It was absolute heaven. “I definitely got the better deal out of the two of us,” she said absentmindedly, making him chuckle.  
  


* * *

  
Lucas smiled as he watched Hughes take in the rooftop garden. He wished he could see the awe on her own face instead of his but it was enough for him that she seemed to really love what she was seeing.

“I definitely got the better deal out of the two of us,” she blabbed and Lucas couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I gotta say I like your apartment. It feels much homier than mine,” he admitted as they sat down and he filled the wine glasses.

“So, what should we toast to?” Hughes wondered.

“How about to new experiences?” Lucas suggested and she smiled as they drank to that. “Any new experience you’ve made?” He wondered.

“Well, I gotta say peeing while standing up sure is awesome,” she blurted out and started blushing instantly. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean to say that.”

“It’s okay, Hughes. It’s definitely a perk that I miss,” he joked.

“Any new experience you’ve made?” She asked curiously.

Lucas felt his cheeks burn, unsure if he should mention the disaster that trying to put on a bra was. 

“Come on, tell me. It’s obvious that we have both seen each other naked, so spill,” she said and it fascinated Lucas how she always spoke what’s on her mind. It was refreshing, considering that everyone always tiptoed around him.

“First of all, I really did my best not to look,” he watched Hughes roll her eyes. ”And well, turns out that taking off someone’s bra is much easier than actually putting it on,” he confessed and Hughes burst into laughter. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing really. I was just wondering the entire time why you weren’t wearing one.”

“Who the hell invented those things?” He complained.

“Probably a man who wanted to torture women and make them spend even more money than they already do.”

“Yeah, that’s the other thing. Why do you need so many creams and lotions and serums and all that make-up. I mean you are really stunning without all that stuff.”

She raised her eyebrows, looking at him in shock.

“I ain’t blind. You are a beautiful woman and you know it,” he replied using her own words from earlier.

“Well, thank you. That’s very nice of you to say,” she blushed. 

Lucas just stared at her for a moment and it was weird. He may have been looking at himself but he saw her there. He couldn’t really explain it. He shook the thought from his mind.

“Um, we should probably eat before it gets cold,” she nodded as she took a bite and moaned.

“Wow, this is so good,” she said with her mouth full, making him chuckle. “So, you cook, you garden, you play the guitar, you are the Fire Chief with an amazing apartment and you are easy on the eyes,” she listed all the good things and Lucas looked at her in wonder where she was going with this. “What the hell is wrong with you? I mean there must be something wrong because how does a guy like you not have a girlfriend or wife?”

Lucas shrugged. “Oh my God, you’re gay,” she concluded, making him choke on a piece of meat.

Lucas coughed before taking a sip of wine and swallowing. “I’m not gay. I really just haven’t had luck with women.”

“Maybe you should consider a guy then,” she suggested.

“Maybe I should,” he agreed before shaking his head and chuckling in amusement. 

“Who knows you may find your dream guy,” Hughes teased. “No, but seriously. Why does a guy like you not have the women lined up?”

“I spend most of my time at work. Most women are not understanding and I’m not dating my firefighters, so.”

“Must be lonely,” she said and it was really lonely Lucas thought but that was the price for having a career and being at the top.

“It can be but it’s okay,” he lied. “Why don’t you have a boyfriend?”

“Because most guys run the other way when they hear that I’m a firefighter.”

That surprised Lucas. That’s not what he would do. “Why?”

“Because most guys don’t like it when the woman is stronger than them,” she explained and Lucas nodded in understanding.

“I think it’s hot,” he replied without thinking. “I didn’t mean to say that. I’m sorry.”

“Why do you keep apologizing?”

“Because I am your boss and shouldn’t say stuff like that,” he said as she rolled her eyes.

“You _are_ a real boy scout,” she said dryly, making him laugh.

“I’ve been called worse. Now, stop talking and eat your food,” he ordered as they ate in comfortable silence.

Lucas couldn’t remember the last time he shared a home cooked meal with someone, let alone a woman. He had to admit that it was nice and something that was definitely missing in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how did you like the chapter? Do you think Vic will realize that Ripley was talking about her when he mentioned a firefighter he is attracted to or is she totally oblivious?


	5. First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after and their first day at work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone who is still reading and enjoying this. Hope you like the new chapter.

Vic groaned as she woke up, remembering the previous night. Ripley and her had drank four bottles of wine and talked late into the night before stumbling downstairs, back into his apartment. Vic had forbidden him to drive home to her place, considering how much he had to drink, so he slept on the couch. She would have felt bad about that if she hadn’t known firsthand that his couch was super comfy.

Vic rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she walked into the kitchen to find Ripley already up, wearing one of his crew shirts, sipping coffee while doing something on his laptop. She looked him up and down and couldn’t help but smile at the sight of herself in his shirt. She had to admit that it looked quite good on her and she cursed herself for that thought. She wasn’t supposed to think that and she didn’t even know where that thought came from.

“Good morning,” Ripley smiled at her and even though it was her own face she could see Ripley coming through. She couldn’t quite explain it. She wondered if he felt the same when he looked at her.

“I didn’t know what you eat for breakfast, so I made a little bit of everything,” he said as he handed her a cup of coffee which Vic accepted happily before plopping down on the stool, taking a sip and filling her plate with pancakes, eggs and some bacon.

“That looks really good. You know I think you should actually stay here because I could get used to someone cooking for me,” Vic joked making him laugh.

“So, you’d use me for my culinary skills?” Vic laughed and nodded. “Seeing as you like my cooking, I made food for the next couple of days. It’s in the fridge.”

Vic raised an eyebrow. “You did? Why?” He shrugged. “How long have you been up?”

“A while. I’m a morning person and I really like cooking. It relaxes me. It’s really no big deal and I really didn’t want the food to go to waste,” he explained. 

“You know you could have just taken it with you to my place and cook for yourself,“ Vic said, making him chuckle.

“And let you starve?” He laughed. “I should probably leave and get some work done, now that I have my laptop.”

For some reason Vic didn’t want him to leave. She really enjoyed talking to him. “Or you could stay and have breakfast with me? I mean that is a lot of food and I can’t eat it all by myself and well, you can actually eat a lot now that you are me,” Vic suggested and watched him smile and nod.

“I’m surprised you aren’t sick of me yet,” he joked.

Vic chuckled. “I actually like talking to you,” she admitted.

“You sound surprised,” he countered.

“To be honest, I am,” he looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Look, I owe you an apology for what I said to you. You know about not caring.”

“How come?” He wondered.

“Dr. Bailey called,” he smiled in understanding. “She mentioned that she always calls you when one of your firefighters ends up at her hospital. I shouldn’t have assumed that you don’t care. That wasn’t fair of me.”

“Thank you, Hughes. That means more than you know,” Vic nodded and smiled. “What did Dr. Bailey say?”

“Um, she said that Andy and Jack are fine and can go back to work.” Vic had to think for a moment, trying to remember what else the doctor had said, “um, ... Larson has a couple of broken ribs. Ortiz broke his hand. Both of them will be out for a few weeks.”

“What about… what about Montgomery?” Vic could tell that he was concerned for her best friend and that it wasn’t just an act.

“He is out of the woods and will make a full recovery but it will take a few weeks.”

Ripley sighed in relief. “I’m glad he’s going to be okay. I know how much he means to you. I’m actually quite fond of him myself.”

Vic looked away. “What’s wrong?” He wondered.

“Nothing,” she lied.

“Why don’t I believe you,” he said as he sat down beside her and filled his own plate with food.

“It’s just that he gave up,” Ripley looked confused. “Travis, he gave up. He told Warren to just leave him there and save Molly instead.”

“Are you really upset that he put a patient first? What would you have done?”

Vic looked away again. “Admit it, you would have done the same thing. You can’t be mad at him for something that you would have done as well.”

Vic sighed because he was right. She would have done the same thing. She knew she was being a hypocrite but she couldn’t help her feelings. “I guess I would have but part of me is still mad even though I understand why he did what he did.”

“Is that how you feel about me and my decision the other night?” Ripley wondered.

“I guess,” she answered truthfully. “I understand that you have to make certain decisions but that doesn’t mean that I like them or agree with them.”

“It doesn’t mean that I like them either but it’s what I have to do as the chief. You may get a taste of that yourself now that you’re me,” he reminded her.

Vic had to admit that thought scared her a bit and it must have shown on her face. “Don’t worry,” he put his hand over hers which made her feel funny, something she couldn’t explain. “I’ll be here to help you. Most of my job is paperwork and the boring stuff anyway. I’m only on scene for the big ones,” he still held her hand.

“So, I’ll be doing your paperwork then?” She teased as he let go of her hand.

“No, I’ll do that. I already arranged for things with my assistant and my battalion chiefs.”

“So, I actually won’t be doing anything really? Just sit in the office and look pretty?”

Ripley burst into laughter. “Well, you can always help me with paperwork. We start tomorrow at six.”

“AM?” Vic asked and he nodded. “I have to come in that early? My shift usually doesn’t start until eight.”

“Yeah but you are the chief now. You have to be there even if it means sleeping on the couch while I take care of the actual work.”

“On top of a 24 hour shift? That doesn’t sound fair that you’ll be doing my job and your job while I do nothing.”

“Well, somebody’s gotta do it and as you said earlier I am you now so I have way more energy, so don’t worry about me,” he winked at her.

“It’s still not fair.”

“It almost sounds like you feel bad for me,” he grinned.

“Maybe I do. I mean we have no idea how long this will last and you can’t keep doing both jobs forever.”

“Well, hopefully this won’t be forever. I gotta admit that I do miss peeing standing up and it’s only been a day,” he joked and Vic couldn’t help but laugh. “Like is there any upside of being a woman,” he asked.

“Well, there are multiple orgasms,” Vic answered without thinking, making him choke on his food. Ripley coughed, trying to catch his breath. “I don’t know why I just said that. It’s like I stop thinking when I’m around you,” Vic confessed and blushed.

“So, now that is my fault,” he teased.

“Just a tiny little bit,” Vic laughed. “But seriously, I should be doing something. I can’t let you do all the work.”

“I wasn’t kidding about the help with paperwork and it’s not like you won’t be doing those 24 hours shift yourself.”

“And you will just let me order around my team? And you?”

Ripley chuckled. “I guess. Look, you know your team. You know their strengths and weaknesses. You know this job and if you need any help I’m here for you and so are Herrera and Gibson. I mean they may not be ready for the job yet but that doesn’t mean that I think that they are not good at their jobs,” Vic nodded as she finished up her breakfast.

“Thank you, Chief,” he smiled at her before turning away.

“I should probably go now,” he announced as he stood up. “Do you mind doing the dishes?”

“You cooked for me. I think doing the dishes is the least I can do.”

Ripley drank the rest of his coffee before grabbing his laptop and heading for the door. Vic stared at him and realized he was still wearing the crew shirt.

“Um, sir?” He turned around. “You’re still wearing your crew shirt. I don’t think it would be good if people saw  _ me _ wearing that.”

“I think you’re right,” he laughed before taking it off and tossing it at her.

“And...” Vic took a deep breath, feeling embarrassed. “I know you don’t want to look and stuff but you kinda have to look and touch to put on a bra, so please, wear one from now on.”

He blushed, looking just as embarrassed as Vic. “I will, Hughes. I promise. It just takes some time getting used to all this,” Vic nodded. “And I promise that I will take good care of your hair,” he added before saying goodbye.

Vic locked the door and washed the dishes before grabbing one of Ripley’s romance novels and going upstairs to spend some time in the hammock, once again thinking that she definitely got the better deal out of this.  
  


* * *

  
Lucas hadn’t done much after returning to Hughes’ apartment. He did some work on his laptop and fixed the faucet in her kitchen before going to bed rather early. He figured some rest wouldn’t hurt especially after spending almost the entire night drinking with Hughes and then falling asleep on the couch.

In the morning, he did his make-up the way Hughes had taught him and while applying the BB cream, what even is a BB cream, wasn’t a big deal, trying to put on mascara without poking his eye out certainly was and while he did see a difference once he was done he still didn’t quite understand why women needed all that stuff since to him it was a waste of money and time.

Afterwards, he tried putting on a bra again which of course proved to be quite an adventure once more until he remembered what Hughes had told him about looking and touching and Lucas knew that there was no way around it. He tried to ignore how smooth her skin felt or that he was touching her breasts while adjusting the bra but after a few tries he finally managed to put it on and noticed two things. For one, wearing a bra wasn’t exactly comfortable and secondly, he noticed an umbrella tattoo on her rib cage and a flower tattoo on her right hip that was covering a little scar. He couldn’t help but wonder how long she had those and if they had any meaning to her. He had never been much of a tattoo guy but he had to admit that they looked good on her.

Lucas also couldn’t help but wonder what Hughes had discovered herself when she had looked at him or what she had thought while looking at him. It was quite a surreal and weird situation they were in and he wasn’t sure how to handle it considering his attraction. 

He looked at his watch and realized that he had spent way too much time putting on make-up and a bra and once again he cursed being a woman. Everything seemed to take longer. He was glad that he didn’t go running like he usually did in the morning because he would be late for sure.

He finally got dressed before leaving the apartment and driving to the station. Once there he snuck into the captain’s office, hoping that no one would notice him since Hughes wasn’t supposed to be in there. He was about to sit down and start his day when the door opened and Hughes walked in with two cups of coffee and a paper bag with what he assumed was breakfast.

“Good morning,” she groaned as she handed him his coffee and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Good morning, sunshine. You really aren’t a morning person, are you?” He teased and earned himself a glare which made him laugh even harder.

“Shut up and drink your coffee,” she said before realizing what she had said, her eyes going wide. “I didn’t mean that, sir,” she apologized. “I really ain’t much of a morning person,” she admitted.

Lucas nodded in understanding as he sipped his coffee.

“I got us breakfast,” she smiled as she revealed bagels, eggs, waffles, fresh fruits and bacon. “It’s the least I could do for all the cooking you did for me,” she smiled warmly before sitting down.

“Um, you should probably sit in the other chair,” Lucas reminded her and she nodded before moving.

“Right, I forgot that I’m the chief at the moment,” she chuckled. “So, how was your day after you left your place?”

Lucas sighed. “That bad?” Hughes wondered.

“I went grocery shopping,” he started, making her raise an eyebrow. “I’ve been to that supermarket many times and people have always been...”

“Nice and friendly?” Lucas nodded. “Let me guess, women usually bend over backwards to help you find things without you even having to ask for their help.”

“It’s not like I expect them to. I just figured that’s them doing their jobs.”

“How many women who don’t work there have tried to help you over the years?” she asked and Lucas had to think for a moment before realizing that there had been plenty. He never really thought about it before. “I’m sure there were a lot. It helps when you look the way you do.”

“That certainly explains why Mike was so eager to help  _ you _ when all his female co-workers ignored me yesterday,” she furrowed her forehead.

“Did he actually help?” Hughes wondered and Lucas shook his head. “Let me guess, he totally checked you out and probably appreciated the fact that you weren’t wearing a bra,” she joked.

“I mean, the way he was staring at my chest, well yours it was just wrong and I’m not sure he even realized how uncomfortable he made me feel.”

“Why did he make you feel uncomfortable? Because he was a guy and you are one too?”

“What? No of course not. It was the fact that he wasn’t even listening to what I was saying. He wasn’t interested in actually helping me which I didn’t expect from him since I’ve known him for a while and he always seemed like a nice guy and everything.”

“Welcome to a woman’s world,” she replied bitterly.

“Doesn’t that bother you?”

Hughes huffed. “Of course it bothers me. I don’t like some sleazebag undressing me with his eyes or touching me without my permission. I’m a human being and deserve to be seen as such and respected. I’m not just some piece of meat,” she ranted while Lucas listened carefully. “I mean, I know that women are not innocent but maybe they are more subtle about it or men just don’t feel as uncomfortable when a woman stares at them or women are just more aware of when they are being too much.”

“Have I ever made you feel uncomfortable?” Lucas wondered.

“What?” She asked, confused. “No, you haven’t. I mean you were so freaking out about seeing me naked that you asked my blessing to go pee and take showers,” she teased, making him chuckle. “I mean I can’t attest for other women and their experiences but I have never felt uncomfortable in your presence. Just irritated at times.”

“Explains all the yelling,” he teased back before turning serious again. “But honestly, should I ever make you feel uncomfortable, can you let me know.”

“I mean do you know me as a person who holds back?” she smirked.

“Touché,” he laughed while she smiled at him.

Lucas couldn’t help but really enjoy this time with Victoria Hughes. She was a breath of fresh air and probably a whole lot of trouble for him.  
  


* * *

  
Vic was sitting in the beanery thinking about her first day as the chief slash captain and she was glad that it had been a slow one. There were no fires, just a few medical calls that she wasn’t needed for and the rest of the day was spent cleaning the entire station while she was sitting in the captain’s office looking pretty as she had once joked with Ripley. 

Vic had never been interested in climbing the ladder and being more than just a firefighter. She was happy doing that job for the rest of her life or for as long as her body would let her but being Ripley and bossing her colleagues around certainly had its perks. Of course she knew that the job was more than just bossing people around and that it was a lot of responsibility and a lot of paperwork but it was fun to play the boss for a while and she couldn’t help but smirk whenever she gave Ripley an order though he really didn’t seem to mind being ordered around by her. She wondered if he would tell her off when they were alone or if he would just shut up and do as told for however long this body swap thing lasted.

Vic had watched her team and Ripley for most of the day and they seemed to really have fun together. A part of her was somewhat jealous because she felt lonely in the office all by herself but another part wondered if Ripley missed that kind of camaraderie. She could imagine that people weren’t eager to hang out with the chief, though he was actually fun to be around as she had realized the other night or maybe it had been all the alcohol they consumed that night. 

But as she watched her team embrace him like they did she knew that she was right, that he was actually fun to be around. Her team didn’t seem to notice that Vic wasn’t actually Vic and she wondered if Ripley was really that convincing while playing her or if her friends were just super oblivious and she also wondered what they were telling him. The thought that they would talk about something embarrassing kinda scared Vic. She didn’t really want Ripley to know certain things about her.

“Chief?” Someone interrupted her thoughts and as she looked up she saw Jack looking at her in surprise before sitting down beside her. “Why are you not sleeping?”

“Um, I just have a lot on my mind. Why are you still awake, Gibson?”

“Same, I guess.” Vic looked at him and he looked a little bit lost and uncertain, something Vic wasn’t used to. Jack was confident and sure of himself but the man sitting in front of her wasn’t at all.

“You know you can talk to me. I’m here to listen,” Vic offered and she was pretty sure that Ripley would have done the same thing.

“I really don’t want to bother you,” he dismissed her but Vic could tell that something was really bothering him.

“I was scared of fire once,” she blurted out.

Jack looked at her in surprise. “You were?”

“Yeah. It was a long time ago. My team and I had a call with… um, blue fire,” Vic knew that Jack would remember the blue fire they had encountered less than a year ago. “I had just stopped being a rookie and I came really close to dying that day. The closest I’ve ever been. It really scared me and I denied that I had a problem for the longest time until I realized that I had to be honest with my team because I was endangering them.”

“What happened? I mean after you told them?”

“They kept it to themselves and instead of reporting me they helped me to overcome it.”

“Did it work?” Jack wondered.

“It didn’t at first and I was afraid that I had to give up my job and new family because of it but then we had this big call and there was an explosion and I saved my teammate and I don’t know I was just back.”

“Just like that?” Jack asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, I don’t know. I can’t explain it but I’m sure that if I hadn’t told my team that I wouldn’t have gotten over it. I had their support and that meant everything. I’m not saying you have to talk to me but talk to someone from your team. Maybe Hughes,” Vic suggested.

“Funny that you mention her because she did experience blue fire as well,” Vic raised an eyebrow. “I mean we all did but Hughes and Warren were trapped and almost died.”

“Well, so did you in the skyscraper, so maybe she is the right person to talk to. Think about it,” Jack nodded. “Just talk to someone.”

“Okay, I promise I will,” he stood up but didn’t move. “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind listening?”

Vic smiled. “I wouldn’t have offered otherwise.”

Jack sat back down and started talking. He told her everything about what it felt like being buried alive. How he couldn’t get the sound of the pass device out of his mind. How he thought that he would die and that no one was coming. How he thought that his team had abandoned him and how happy he was when Andy and Maya showed up and saved his life and Vic just listened. She watched her usually strong and confident lieutenant and friend open up to her in a way she never thought he would and she just let him talk until he was tired and ready to go to sleep.

Vic got up herself and was about to go downstairs when Ripley startled her. 

“Dammit, you scared me,” she cursed.

“You were scared of fire and kept it to yourself?” He demanded to know, looking somewhat angry.

“I… I’m not anymore,” Vic replied.

“But you were,” he asked again and Vic nodded. “When did you stop being afraid of fire?”

Vic took a deep breath. “Skyscraper,” she answered quietly.

“So just two days ago?” Vic nodded again, feeling rather small under his gaze.

“Don’t worry, I’m okay now. I won’t embarrass you or anything.”

“Do you really think that’s what I’m worried about?” He got louder before realizing that anyone could hear them. “This is about you endangering your entire team,” he whispered. “If something had happened to them...”

“Nothing happened,” Vic interrupted him, sighing in frustration.

“This time,” he countered.

“It won’t happen again,” Vic assured him.

“You can’t know that.”

“If it happens again I will tell them right away and get help. I promise,” Vic said and he sighed in defeat.

“I run the FD Peer Support program at the Civic Center,” he said and Vic looked at him in surprise. “I think you should consider going,” Vic raised an eyebrow. “Once you are back in your own body but you can tell Gibson about it. He needs to get help before it gets worse. I know how he feels and if he doesn’t talk to a professional,” he shook his head.

“Well, then you talk to him. You will know what to say to him.”

“It’s not that easy. I am you. Victoria Hughes doesn’t have as much experience as Chief Ripley and right now I am you,” Vic nodded in understanding. “Just tell him to go to the support group. We will see what else we can do,” he smiled at her.

“What we can do?” Vic wondered and he nodded.

“Yeah! We are in this together. And you really should go to bed. You look like hell,” he teased, making Vic laugh. 

“Good night, chief!”

“Good night, Hughes,” he said before walking back into his bunk room while Vic went downstairs into her office.

She took off her uniform and plopped onto the bed, thinking about her conversation with Ripley just now. He had been angry but she also saw something else there and she wasn’t sure if she saw right. She thought she had seen concern in his eyes but was it concern for her entire team or just for her.   
  
_ Did it really matter though? _ , she wondered and sighed before closing her eyes. She needed to sleep and not think about Ripley anymore which proved to be harder than she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Liked it? Hated it? Do you want more?


	6. Secrets & Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic has an unexpected visitor and finds out something surprising.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad you guys are still with me and this story. Thanks so much for the comments. The story is slowly building and there is still so much to explore. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Lucas had to admit that he really enjoyed his first day just being a firefighter instead of the chief. He had forgotten what it was like and he had missed the friendships that came with it and while his first day had been rather boring and involved a lot of cleaning he didn’t mind at all because he got to spend time with the team. He realized that he wasn’t just going to get to know them as human beings but also as firefighters. It was the perfect change for him to see their strengths and weaknesses. 

“Should we have invited Ripley?” Gibson asked, making everyone look at him in surprise. 

Lucas had agreed to go for breakfast with them after shift. He hadn’t felt like going home.

“Why? He will be with us for the next couple of weeks. We don’t need to spend even more time with him,” Herrera groaned and Lucas tried not to chuckle at her dislike for him.

“Are you still upset with him for not picking one of us as captain?” Gibson wondered.

“How come you’re not? You wanted this just as much as I did and now we are stuck with him for a while before he chooses some outsider,” Herrera complained while Gibson shrugged. “Wait, do you actually agree with him about us not being ready?”

“I think he knows what he is doing and he just wants the best for everyone and right now I don’t think either one of us is the best for this job. I know I’m not,” Gibson confessed, surprising Lucas. It seemed as if his talk with Hughes actually helped.

“What do you mean?” Bishop wondered.

“Andy and I both made choices the other night that we shouldn’t have and Ripley saw that and that’s why he is doing what he is doing. He is not as bad as everyone believes him to be,” Jack defended him which Lucas appreciated. He wasn’t used to this. He knew that some of his subordinates didn’t have the best opinion of him.

“Wow, I had no idea that you’re in love with Ripley,” Miller joked, making everyone laugh.

“Too bad he has a crush on Hughes,” Bishop threw in while still laughing, making Lucas choke on his juice.

“What are you talking about?” He looked at her in shock.

“Come on, Vic. He had you pick up his “paperwork” from HQ and then you spend a lot of time in his office and he was watching you all day long. His eyes were practically glued to you,” Lucas frowned. Why would Hughes watch him or was Bishop just exaggerating?

“I can assure you that he doesn’t have a crush on me. Picking up his work was my punishment,” Lucas instantly regretted his choice of words.

“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Bishop teased.

Lucas sighed. “I didn’t mean it like that. The reason I was in his office for so long was because he chewed me out for yelling at him,” Lucas lied.

“That was weeks ago. I didn’t realize that Ripley holds a grudge but then again he is still upset with me for stealing his key,” Herrera rolled her eyes.

Lucas tried not to roll his own eyes at her before answering. “No, I yelled at him again the other night during the skyscraper,” he explained, everyone stared at him in shock. “I accused him of not caring and yesterday he just wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t yell at him again or he would make his threat of firing me a reality. That’s probably why he was keeping an eye on me,” Lucas hoped they would accept his explanation.

“Why would you accuse him of not caring? He obviously does,” Gibson wondered.

“I was just really emotional because of … because of Travis and I just let my emotions get the best of me but turns out he is actually not half as bad as I thought.”

“So now you and Gibson are both crushing on Ripley?” Miller joked.

“Shut up, MIller,” Gibson beat Lucas to the punch. Lucas just nodded in agreement.

“How is Travis, by the way?” Herrera changed the subject and Lucas hated that he didn’t really know except for what Hughes had told him that Dr. Bailey had told her. He was so busy with the whole body switch business that he didn’t go to the hospital like he usually did when one of his firefighters was injured.

“Vic?” Miller snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Are you still there?”

“Sorry! According to Dr. Bailey, he is okay,” Lucas answered.

“According to Dr. Bailey? Wait, you haven’t been to the hospital to see him or even called him?” Lucas shook his head at Bishop’s question. “He is your best friend,” she reminded him.

“I know that he is and I planned on going today. I just needed some time to process. It’s not easy watching your best friend almost bleed to death,” Lucas huffed, hoping they would drop the topic.

“Okay, okay. No need to bite my head off,” Bishop rolled her eyes.

The rest of breakfast was a bit awkward and Lucas left as soon as he was done, ignoring the weird looks from his subordinates.

He went straight to the hospital, easily finding Montgomery’s room, still remembering it from when he woke up there a few days ago in Hughes’ body and as he walked into the room, he wasn’t surprised to find Hughes sitting there, watching over a sleeping Montgomery.

“Hi,” he said as he approached her. “What are you doing here?”

She looked up at him in surprise. “Running away from your sister.”  
  


* * *

  
Vic groaned when she finally got home to Ripley’s place, feeling super tired and ready to spend the next two days in bed. Usually she wouldn’t be so tired after a 24 hours shift but she was in the body of someone much older so that was probably why she felt like she could sleep forever.

She stopped when she suddenly heard a noise coming from inside the apartment which sounded like someone was using the espresso machine which made Vic less alert but really annoyed.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, assuming it was Ripley, only to find a woman standing in the kitchen. 

“Wow, what a nice way to greet your sister,” the stranger replied before walking over to Vic, hugging her and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Is everything okay?”

Vic stared at her and recognized her from the pictures that Ripley had in his apartment. She had blonde hair like her brother, only hers was a bit darker but their eyes and smile were the same.

“Earth to Lucas, are you okay?” Jennifer asked, looking somewhat concerned.

“Yeah, sorry! I’m just surprised that you’re here,” Vic finally replied. 

“So am I. Shouldn’t you be at work right now?”

“Um, I took over as interim captain at Station 19 until I can find a permanent captain for them, so my work schedule is a bit different right now,” Jennifer smirked at her. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh no, you are not going to change the subject, big brother. You can’t tell me that no one, not a single Battalion Chief of yours could have done that job instead of you?” Jennifer asked and Vic wondered what she was getting at. “This is about Hudgens,” Vic furrowed her forehead, “no Hugles, no wait, what was the name again?”

“Hughes?” Vic offered, confused about the fact that Ripley’s sister knew about her.

“Right! That’s it! Victoria Hughes.”

“What about her?” Vic tried to sound neutral and not curious. Why would Ripley’s sister know about her?

“Oh, don’t give me that. You are totally into her,” Vic’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Ripley was into her? How? When? Why?

“What are you talking about?”

Jennifer sighed. “Come on, admit it. You are totally into her ever since she yelled at you at peer reviews. I mean you complained about her for over an hour and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you speak about anyone with that kinda fire in your eyes. You totally loved that she gave you a piece of her mind. You like that she is feisty and talked back and you also managed to slip her name into the conversation at least two more times after that peer review. You like her,” Jennifer wiggled her eyebrows.

Vic didn’t know how to react or respond to any of this. Ripley was into  _ her _ ? So, when he admitted to being attracted to someone from the department, he was actually talking about  _ her _ ? He made it sound like it was in the past but apparently it wasn’t.

“Lucas? What is wrong with you today? Did you hear a word I just said? Did something happen with Hughes?” Jennifer wondered and Vic shook her head.

If only Jennifer knew what had happened between them. If only Jennifer knew that she was currently talking to Vic and not her brother.

“Nope, nothing happened,” Vic answered, not meeting the other woman’s eyes.

“Why don’t I believe you. Come on, spit it out!”

Vic sighed. “Okay, fine. She yelled at me again, accusing me of not caring about her and her team and I threatened to fire her.”

“You threatened to fire her? Way to go, big brother!” She rolled her eyes at Vic. “But I get it. Must have hurt that she thought you didn’t care when obviously you care more about her than she could possibly know,” Jennifer said, surprising Vic because Ripley had said the exact same thing to her.

Could he really be into her? Was that the reason he threw her out during peer reviews? Couldn’t he trust himself around her? She thought back to a couple of nights ago when she said that he didn’t care and how she saw something in his eyes that she couldn’t quite explain but now she knew what it was. He was hurt because he was attracted to her and Vic thought so little of him. It also explained why he was so weirded out about seeing her naked and touching her. 

“I gotta go,” Vic suddenly said, wanting to get away from Jennifer, needing time to process everything.

Jennifer looked at her perplexed. “You just got here.”

“I know and I’m sorry for just leaving again but I have somewhere to be and I almost forgot about it,” Vic hugged Jennifer. “I’m happy you’re here and we are totally catching up tonight but I really gotta go and take care of this thing. I love you, sis,” Vic said before fleeing the apartment. 

She needed to get out of there. She needed to clear her head. It was easier when she thought that Ripley didn’t like her but knowing that he had a thing for her changed everything and she didn’t quite understand why but it just did. It was weird enough for him to be occupying her body before but now it was just cruel in a way. It must be strange to be inside someone you are attracted to but not in the pleasurable way. 

Vic cursed her mind for even going there. Why was she thinking about sex with Ripley? She didn’t even like the guy. And sex with him right now certainly would be weird but also interesting and quite intriguing and Vic once again cursed her mind for going there but then again no woman had ever experienced the male side of sex and vice versa so it was only natural that she would be curious about it.

Vic sighed when she realized that she was standing in front of the hospital and remembered that Travis was still there and that she hadn’t seen him since the night she dragged him down the stairwell. She was still upset with him for giving up but the urge to see him and to make sure that he was really okay was bigger than her anger and so she went inside.

She spotted Chief Bailey who smiled at her. “Chief Ripley, hello. I take it you’re here to see Travis Montgomery,” Vic nodded.

“How is he doing?”

“He is doing great for someone who just had heart surgery a few days ago. He seems very eager to go back to work the last time I saw him.”

“When will that be?” Vic tried her best to sound like Ripley.

“Like I said on the phone. It should be no longer than six weeks. He is in room 2305.”

“Thank you, Dr. Bailey. For everything.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiled before leaving.

Vic walked towards Travis’ room, feeling slightly nervous. What would she say to him? She couldn’t be herself because she wasn’t herself. She was Ripley and Ripley had a thing for her and she couldn’t talk to her best friend about any of it and she hated that so much. Though if she told Travis the truth he probably would have her committed.

She entered his room and gasped. He may be on the mend but seeing him like that wasn’t easy for Vic. He came so close to dying just a few nights ago and it was hard for Vic. She didn’t have much family and Travis was a big part of her life and she couldn’t imagine her life without him in it. She sighed as she watched him sleep. He looked so peaceful that she just couldn’t wake him so instead she just sat down beside him and watched him sleep until someone interrupted her.

“Hi,” she heard her own voice. “What are you doing here?” Ripley asked.

“Running away from your sister,” Vic replied sarcastically before she could stop herself.

“My sister lives in Vancouver,” he looked confused.

“Well, she is here to visit you,” Vic huffed, annoyed and she knew she was being unfair because this wasn’t Ripley’s fault but the news of him liking her had confused her and she didn’t know how to act around him.

“I had no idea she was coming. I’m sorry. Why did you run away from her though? What did she do? Or say?”

Vic’s eyes widened. “Um, I was just surprised about her being there. That’s all. Just didn’t expect it.”

“Did you talk to her about why she is here?” Vic shook her head. 

_ Other than to reveal your secret of being into me, you mean?,  _ she thought.

“Can you find out and let me know?” Vic nodded.

“Vic, is that you?” Travis groaned as he woke up. Vic looked down at him and smiled. “Chief? You’re here too? Am I dreaming?” 

“No, you’re not dreaming. I just wanted to check on you and see how you’re doing,” Vic said and smiled at her friend as he sat up in his bed, hissing, obviously still in pain. “Are you alright?” Vic asked worried and he nodded curiously. Vic realized that she probably was too worried especially since she was supposed to be Ripley.

Travis looked between her and Ripley. “Were you two just arguing and why are you here together?”

“We’re not,” they said in unison, looking eyes for a few seconds before looking away, both blushing.

Travis raised an eyebrow. “You two are acting weird. What’s going on here?”

“I have to go. I just wanted to see how you’re doing and I’m glad you are okay,” Vic replied before fleeing once again. She was getting really good at that.

“Goodbye, Chief!” Ripley and Travis said as Vic practically stormed out of the room and bumped into Dr. Bailey. 

“Chief Ripley, what’s the hurry?” She wondered. “You just got here.”

“Um, yeah but Montgomery has another visitor and I figured I’d give them some time.” 

Dr. Bailey looked into the room and nodded in understanding. “You wanna go grab a coffee? You look like you could need a coffee and a talk,” she noted and Vic battled with herself for a moment before nodding and following Ben’s wife outside to grab some coffee from the stand. 

They sat down on a bench and Vic didn’t know what to say. Could she hypothetically tell Dr. Bailey about Ripley’s feelings for her?

“So, I feel like there is something on your mind that you want to talk about,” she started and Vic looked at her in surprise. Was she some kind of mindreader? 

Vic thought for a moment before taking a deep breath. “What if you found out that a person you thought hated you actually liked you? I mean this entire time I thought that he hated me but...” Vic realized her mistake immediately. “I meant she. I thought _she_ hated me. I’m talking about a she,” she watched as the doctor nodded her head.

“Your secret is safe with me,” she assured Vic and Vic sighed. 

_ Did she just out her boss when he wasn’t actually gay? _

“There is no secret here, really.”   
  
_ Other than I’m actually Victoria Hughes stuck in my boss’ body and said boss is apparently into me _ , Vic thought.   
  
“This was a bad idea. I need to go,” Vic mumbled before getting up and fleeing one more time.  
  


* * *

  
"What was that?” Montgomery asked.

“What do you mean?” Lucas wondered but thought the same. Hughes was acting weirder than usually.

“I mean you and Ripley. Why did you two act as if you’ve seen each other naked,” he joked and Lucas eyes widened. “Oh my God, you’ve seen each other naked.”

“What no! Of course not,” Lucas lied.

“Oh, don’t give me that. Why else would you two be so awkward around each other?” 

“I yelled at him,” Lucas blurted out.

“What does that have to do with anything? That was weeks ago.”

“No, I yelled at him again a few nights ago after finding you and he threatened to fire me. That’s why it’s weird between us. I accused him of not caring and obviously he does or he wouldn’t have been here to see you,” Lucas explained like he did earlier with the team.

“Why don’t I believe you? You are hiding something from me and I want to know what it is,” Montgomery demanded.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Lucas blabbed and regretted it instantly.

“Try me!” 

Lucas took a deep breath. “Ripley and I switched bodies and I’m not actually Vic but Ripley,” he said calmly and looked at Montgomery who stared at him in shock before bursting into laughter while hissing slightly but not stopping to laugh.

“This is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. I get it you don’t want to tell me. You should have just said so,” he rolled his eyes and continued to laugh. “Switched bodies. How stupid do you think I am?”

Lucas really couldn’t blame Montgomery for not believing him. Who in their right mind would believe this?

“One day you will tell me what’s going on between the two of you but I accept that today is not that day,” the younger man said and Lucas sighed in relief.

“So tell me, how is everyone?”

“They are fine. Ripley is our captain at the moment,” Travis raised an eyebrow. 

“Oh, now I get why you two are weird around each other. Must suck to have him around when he wants to fire you. Just please don’t do anything to provoke him. Don’t yell at him again. I don’t want him to fire you,” Lucas nodded, glad that Travis believed that to be the reason for their awkwardness. “So, how are Andy and Jack taking it that neither one is getting the position?”

“Andy is pissed at Ripley while Jack understands.”

He chuckled. “Not surprised at all. Andy really wanted the job.”

“Well, she would have gotten it if she hadn’t disobeyed Ripley. She really only has herself to blame,” Lucas answered and immediately regretted it because Hughes wouldn’t have said that for sure.

“Wow, you’re taking his side? I thought you are pissed that he threatened to fire you?”

“Um, I am but that doesn’t mean I can’t agree that what Andy did was irresponsible. She will become captain eventually. Just not right now.”

“You know, I think you have a crush on Ripley. I mean I don’t blame you. That gorgeous golden hair of his and those beautiful blue eyes. I could get lost in them. And did you see his big hands,” Montgomery wiggled his eyebrows. “I mean you know what they say about guys with big hands and he looked so hot in that sweater. Like if he wasn’t our boss and into guys I’d totally hit that.”

Lucas shook his head, feeling slightly uncomfortable that Montgomery was objectifying him like that. “Will you please stop talking? You’re embarrassing yourself.”

“Right, I forgot that you’re actually Ripley,” he teased and chuckled. “I can’t believe you thought I would fall for that shit.”

A knock at the door interrupted them.

“Grant,” Montgomery exclaimed happily and smiled at the young man who walked into the room and gave him a kiss on the lips. Lucas assumed it was his boyfriend and took it as his cue to leave.

“I will leave you two alone now. Nice to see you again, Grant. You take good care of Travis for me,” Lucas smiled and leaned forward to kiss Travis on the cheek.

“Oh, Chief Ripley, don’t stop,” Montgomery mocked him and Lucas rolled his eyes. 

Leave it to Montgomery to tease him about this but actually not believe him. It was probably for the best that he didn’t believe him. Lucas didn’t even know why he told him in the first place. It was probably a momentary lapse of judgment but at least he knew to never try and tell someone the truth ever again. No one would believe him anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will things change now that Vic knows about Ripley's little secret? Why is Jen in Seattle? Will someone figure out what's going on with Vic and Ripley?


	7. Busted?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic spends some time with the Ripley's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who is still reading this and enjoying it. I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter. I'm having so much fun.

Vic was standing in the kitchen, making herself some coffee, when she heard the front door open and the sound of heels which meant that Ripley’s sister was back and Vic really didn’t want to deal with her right now but she had to play along.

“I know your secret,” Vic heard her say and stiffened immediately.

How could she possibly know? There was no way she could have figured out from the couple of minutes they talked to each other before Vic fled the apartment.

Vic turned around slowly and looked at “her” sister.

“I can explain,” she offered weakly, not really knowing how to explain what was going on.

“What’s there to explain? I’m just a little bit upset that you didn’t tell me yourself and felt the need to hide it from me. You know that I wouldn’t have judged you for it and she is even more gorgeous than in the photo I’ve seen of her,” Vic looked at her in confusion.

_ What the hell was she talking about? What photo?  _

“She was making up excuses and stuttering. It was quite adorable actually. I totally get why you fell for her.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Come on, Lucas. You don’t have to pretend anymore. I know that Vic and you are dating,” Vic’s eyes widened in shock.

_ Why would she think that? _

“We are not dating. What gave you that idea?”

“Lucas, it’s okay. Just admit it. I ran into her and she knew who I was and the only way she could have known that is if you told her about me and why would you tell your subordinate, who you have a major crush on, about me unless you two are involved. And the fact that you told her about me means that it’s getting serious. I know it’s only been a few weeks but considering your age I wouldn’t wait too long. She might be the one.”

Vic was still standing there gaping, absorbing everything that Jennifer was saying and trying to wrap her head around it.

_ How could their situation just go from bad to worse so fast?  _

“Jennifer, it’s not what you think. I will tell you the truth and I know you won’t believe me at first but I swear this is the truth,” Vic said as Jennifer nodded.

“We are not dating. The reason Vic knew who you are is because it actually wasn’t Vic. I am Vic. And the person you talked to is actually your brother. That’s why he knew who you are. We switched bodies.”

Vic watched Jennifer who was just staring at her, taking it all in, looking confused at first, forehead furrowed before suddenly bursting into loud laughter, clutching her stomach, head bright red, breathing heavily, tears in her eyes.

Vic couldn’t blame her. If someone told her that story she wouldn’t believe them either, so how could she expect Jennifer to react differently. It was way easier to believe that she and Ripley were dating.

“Oh my God, Lucas, you are hilarious. I can’t believe you would come up with this nonsense just to hide the fact that you are dating her. You know I won’t tell anyone about you two. I don’t care that you two work together or that she is younger. I am just happy that my big brother finally found someone. It’s about time,” Jennifer smiled brightly. “And now can we stop talking about you and talk about me for a moment and why I’m here?”

Vic wanted to say more about the whole dating thing but she got the feeling that no matter how much she denied it, Jennifer wouldn’t believe her, so she just nodded and listened instead.

“So, I got a promotion and the job is here in Seattle and I will be moving here next week and I just met with my new boss and checked out the apartment the firm got for me and I’m so excited to come back to Seattle and be close by. This is so exciting,” Jennifer babbled, which reminded Vic a lot of herself, before she pulled her in a big hug.

“I’m really happy for you,” Vic replied, hugging her back before letting go. “That is wonderful news.” 

Vic was sure that Ripley would be excited for his sister about this but with their current situation this was the worst thing that could happen to them. Jennifer would be around and considering how close Ripley and his sister were, Vic was probably going to spend a lot of time with her.

Jennifer nodded before her phone chimed. She quickly checked the message and groaned. 

“Damn, I gotta go back to the office. My new boss wants to see me about something. I will be back in about two hours or so,” Vic nodded as Jennifer grabbed her purse. “Oh, is there any chance you could make that amazing spinach mushroom lasagne that I love so much. I’ve been craving it for days.”

“Um, sure,” Vic just said and cursed herself because she had no idea where to even start with that.

“Okay, perfect. Bye, big brother,” Jennifer said before leaving the apartment, leaving Vic to herself.

Vic sighed before grabbing her phone. She was surprised to find several missed calls from Ripley and cursed again.  _ How did she miss his calls?  _

She climbed the stairs to the rooftop, wanting some fresh air and dialed her own number.

“Hi, I tried calling you. I ran into my sister and accidentally called her by her name and she looked at me funny and I made up a bunch of stuff and I think she bought it.”

“Yeah, she really didn’t. She thinks we are dating.”

“She what? Why would she think that?”

“I don’t know. You tell me,” Vic huffed. 

“I really don’t know,” Vic knew he lied but she didn’t really expect him to tell her the truth. “What did you tell her?”

“The truth,” Vic simply replied.

“Wait, the truth as in  _ the _ truth?”

“Yeah and you wanna know what she did? She burst into laughter. I mean why did I expect her to react any differently. I would have laughed too if someone told me that they switched bodies with their boss.”

“So, she still thinks we are dating?”

“Yeah, she does,” Vic confirmed, making Ripley groan.

“Is there anything I can do or say to make her believe me that we are not dating?”

“Probably not,” he chuckled.

“Great! So that will be a constant topic from now on especially when she moves here.”

“Wait what?”

“Your sister got a big promotion and will be moving back to Seattle and I will have to deal with her constantly.”

“She did? That is amazing,” Ripley replied happily.

“Well, at least one of us is happy,” Vic sighed. 

“I’m really sorry, Hughes but Jennifer is a great person. You will enjoy getting to know her. I can promise that,” he assured her.

“Well, she better not keep talking about us dating and we will get along perfectly. Anyway, the reason I called you besides Jennifer thinking we are together, is that she expects me to cook for her and unless you want me to burn down your kitchen, you better come here and cook dinner for her. She will be back in a couple of hours, so plenty of time for you to make her your famous spinach mushroom lasagna.”

Ripley chuckled. “I could just make it here at your place and bring it,” he suggested.

“Yeah but then your apartment wouldn’t smell like someone has cooked in it and your sister strikes me as someone who notices stuff like that.”

“Good point. I’ll go and get the groceries and should be there in about half an hour.

“Okay, I’ll see you then,” Vic hung up and groaned.

This whole situation with Ripley was getting more complicated with each passing day and she just wanted it to be over already. She wanted her own life back and not have to worry about sisters and crushes and all that stuff.

She stayed on the roof for a few more minutes, soaking up the sun before going back downstairs into the apartment to wait for her boss. It felt like they weren’t just stuck in each other’s bodies but also stuck with each other, spending almost every single day together since their little body switch.

The universe was definitely having its fun with them. That was for sure.  
  


* * *

  
Lucas walked into his apartment with the groceries about half an hour later.

“Hey babe, I’m home,” he greeted jokingly as he walked into the living room to find Hughes lying on the couch, reading one of his books.

“Very funny, Romeo,“ she teased back.

“I couldn’t resist. I’m sorry, Hughes,” he said and Hughes couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Relax, I was just teasing you.” 

He dropped the bags with the groceries onto the counter and started unpacking.

“So I’ve been wondering, does your sister always assume that random women who know her name must be dating her brother or am I special?”

Lucas stopped what he was doing and stared at her wide eyed, not knowing how to answer the question without giving himself away. Jennifer knew what Hughes looked like because she had looked her up on facebook after Lucas complained about her after the peer reviews, so of course his sister would assume that they were dating, no matter how many lies he tried telling her as to why he knew her name.

“Um, no. I honestly can’t remember what happened there. My sister is like a conversational Jedi,” he lied, making Hughes laugh. “What’s so funny about that?”

“That’s what Bishop called you after peer reviews,” Lucas couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“Was I that bad?” Lucas wondered.

“I wouldn’t know. You kicked me out of the room, remember?. I take it you don’t like strong women who have an opinion,” she smirked.

“What? No, I love strong women who speak their mind. They are my favorite kind,” Lucas blurted out before he could stop himself. 

Hughes raised an eyebrow. “So, I’m your favorite type of woman then?”

_ Yes, you totally are _ , Lucas thought to himself before groaning. 

“Look, I won’t hold it against you. I’m pretty lovable,” she wiggled her eyebrows and it looked super ridiculous since Lucas was looking at his own face yet he still found it adorable and she certainly was loveable. He couldn’t deny that but he had to.

He could tell that she was getting a kick out of all this. “I will just stop talking before I say something I regret later on.”

“You are no fun,” she pouted. “I was just getting started.”  
  
“Yeah, I can tell. You do know I could still fire you when this whole thing is over.”

“Sure, keep telling yourself that,” she laughed and Lucas just shook his head because she was right. There was no way he could or would ever fire her. 

_ I’m in so much trouble _ , he thought as he started on dinner.

“So, why spinach mushroom lasagna and not the traditional one? Is Jennifer a vegetarian?” Lucas nodded. “Is she married or dating anyone? Do you have any nieces or nephews I should know about?”

“No kids. She just recently broke up with her girlfriend Zoey,” Hughes raised an eyebrow. “Jennifer is bisexual. This is not something I would usually talk about with anyone but seeing as this is information that you should have, considering our predicament, I trust you with it,” Hughes nodded. “I think it will be good for her to move back here and kinda start over. I miss having her around.”

“Yeah, well, you won’t really be able to spend time with her unless you want to feed her idea of us dating because why else would you want to get to know your bosses sister?” Hughes sighed. “You know, it would be so much easier if she actually believed me about the whole body switch thing.”

“Yeah,” Lucas agreed as she returned to her book while he prepared dinner. He couldn’t help but glance at her every now and then which she apparently noticed.

“Is there a problem?” She put the book down and stared at him. “You keep staring at me.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize I was,” he lied. “I’m just surprised that you’re into romance novels.”

“Right back at you, buddy,” she chuckled. “Never seen a guy own this many. You know this might be the reason why you’re still single. Women come to your place and are impressed with the apartment, then see your book collection and never call back,” she teased.

“Must be why,” Lucas humored her. “Why are you still here then?” He teased back, making her laugh.

“I have no choice but to be here, obviously,” she smiled at him before standing up from the couch and walking over to him.

She grabbed two wine glasses from the shelf. “Any white wine goes with the dish,” Lucas let her know and she nodded before picking one and filling both glasses and handing him one, their hands brushing. Lucas felt electricity coursing through his entire body and he really needed to be careful because this little crush he had on Hughes was starting to become more and that was not a good thing. It would only make things more complicated and things were already super complicated.

When he looked into her eyes, he swore that he saw something there. He wondered if she had felt it too but dismissed the thought immediately. He couldn’t think like that. Their situation was already complicated and dating would make it even more complicated and how would that work especially now with them not even being themselves.

“Um, I’ll be right back,” she said before disappearing into the bedroom which confirmed that she must have felt something too.

_ How did his life get so messy?  
  
_

* * *

  
Vic spent about twenty minutes in the bedroom, not wanting to go outside and be alone with Ripley. There was this moment when her fingers brushed against his as she handed him the wine glass and she could feel this surge of electricity run through her body that she didn’t quite understand. 

_ How did her life get so messy?  _

She finally walked back into the living room and found Ripley sitting on a stool sipping his wine. 

“It smells great,” Vic said, startling him. 

“I was about to call a search party on you,” he joked, making Vic chuckle.

“Sorry, I lied down and must have dozed off,” Vic lied and she was pretty sure he knew it but he didn’t say anything and just accepted it.

“Food will be ready soon. You can eat upstairs,” he suggested. “It’s nice outside and Jen loves eating in the garden,” Vic nodded before getting some more wine for herself.

“Tell me more about her. I should probably know some things as her brother,” Vic said and he nodded and started telling her about his sister and as Vic listened she had to admit that she was a bit jealous of their relationship. They definitely seemed close and it made Vic wish that her parents had more children.

“Must be nice to be this close. I don’t have any siblings and I often wished my parents had more children but they probably saw what a handful I was and decided not to try again,” Vic joked.

“I’m sure you were a great kid. Probably loud and opinionated,” he teased and Vic chuckled. “But still lovable,” he repeated her words from earlier and Vic tried her best not to blush at that.

“And you were probably the A student and teachers pet,” she teased back. “Or you were the quarterback dating the head cheerleader,” Vic laughed.

“I was all those things,” he admitted.

“Of course you were,” Vic rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised,” she chuckled as she heard the door.

“Oh shit,” they said in unison as they both jumped up.

“Hide in the bedroom,” Vic told him as he grabbed the wine glass and did as told. Jennifer walked in a moment later, looking curiously at Vic, one eyebrow raised.

“Hey, you’re back. So soon,” Vic smiled at her, trying to sound casual.

“I was gone for three hours,” Jennifer replied as Vic looked at her watch and indeed it had been that long and Vic hadn’t even realized it. 

_ Had she really been talking to Ripley that long without even realizing it? _

“I didn’t realize. Dinner is in the oven. Shouldn’t take too long,” Vic was glad that Ripley set a timer because she had no idea when to get the damn lasagna out of the oven. “I thought we could eat in the garden.”

“Sure. You know how much I love your garden,” Jennifer smiled as Vic pulled out another wine glass and filled it before handing it to Jennifer.

“Thank you,” she sighed and plopped down on the stool that Ripley had just occupied. “I need this,” she said before downing the glass, making Vic chuckle before she filled her glass with some more wine. 

“Everything okay?” Vic asked.

“Yeah, we just had to deal with a very difficult client and then I was told that I won’t be starting my new job next week like I hoped but in about three weeks. They still need me to wrap up some things in Vancouver before I can leave there,” she groaned. 

“It’s just a few more weeks. They will be over in no time,” Vic smiled, hoping that by the time Jennifer actually moved to Seattle, she and Ripley would be back in their own bodies.

“Yeah, gives you more time to sneak around with Hughes,” Jennifer teased and Vic rolled her eyes.

“I told you that nothing is going on there. Will you please just let it go,” Vic groaned, trying not to show how annoyed she was with Ripley’s sister. 

“Okay, okay, but you never know. Maybe you being at her station for the next few weeks will make her see what an amazing guy you are, if she doesn’t already know that,” Jennifer winked.

“This is not just about dating someone. This is about specifically dating her and I don’t understand why.”

“Like I said I’ve never seen that spark in your eyes with any other woman before. This one really got to you. I mean I don’t know her… yet,” Vic rolled her eyes again, “but she must be amazing if she caught your eye because I know that you are not easily impressed and she would be pretty damn lucky herself having a funny, smart guy like you by her side.”

“Who happens to be her boss. Nobody wants to date their boss,” Vic said.

“That is just a job title. It’s not who you are. There is more to you than being the chief,” Vic knew that Jennifer was right. She had seen it in the last couple of days but there was still no way that she could ever fall in love with Ripley. 

_ Sleep with him? _ Maybe since she had to admit that she was curious what he was like in bed but she was not looking for someone to date or for a serious relationship and especially not one with the big boss.

A moment later, the timer went off and Vic removed the lasagna from the oven, her mouth watering because it looked and smelled delicious, making her want to keep Ripley as her own personal chef. 

The conversation flowed with Vic mostly listening to Jennifer and occasionally saying something. Ripley’s sister was very open and seemed carefree and fun. She could definitely see them being friends. As she listened to her, Vic had to admit that Ripley did a great job raising her and for whatever reason she couldn’t help but think that he’d be a great dad someday when he found the right woman which definitely wasn’t her.

They ate, talked and drank some more before Jennifer noticed the time. 

“Damn, I gotta go, so I don’t miss my flight.”

“Oh, you want me to drive you to the airport?” Vic offered.

“No, need. I got a car picking me up,” she smiled.

“How fancy,” Vic teased her, making Jennifer laugh.

“Hey, you’re not the only one with a big job title anymore. I’m a vice president now. That comes with a raise, a gorgeous new place and with a chauffeur,” she bragged.

“Well, I’m proud of you,” Vic said as they walked back downstairs.

“Thank you, Lucas,” Jennifer said as she hugged Vic tightly before grabbing her things and leaving the apartment.

“Alone at last,” Vic sighed as she walked into the bedroom, leaving the dirty dishes for tomorrow.

She turned on the lights and was shocked to find Ripley still there, lying in his bed, sleeping. Vic watched him and it felt weird to watch herself sleep, looking so peaceful and she couldn’t help but smile at the image.

She couldn’t bring herself to wake him, so she let him sleep and decided to do the dishes after all and if he wasn't awake by the time she was done she would just let him stay in his bed and she would sleep on the couch.

“I really like you, Victoria,” she heard as she was about to leave the room and stopped dead in tracks. She slowly turned around and realized that he was still sleeping and talking in his sleep, obviously dreaming about her and Vic wondered what he was dreaming about because he was smiling and looking rather happy. 

She sighed before switching off the lights and walking out of the room before grabbing some more wine, drinking it straight from the bottle.

There were so many things going through her mind and she felt rather confused. She didn’t understand how any of this was possible and what the purpose of this switch was. At first, she thought it was for them to understand the other better but now she wasn’t so sure anymore. Was this fate’s twisted way of playing matchmaker or maybe they were actually both in a coma and dreaming all this? It was driving her crazy.

She stopped thinking and instead washed the dishes while downing the entire bottle of wine. Feeling slightly buzzed, she yawned and stretched her tired muscles before stumbling into the bedroom. She didn’t bother turning on the lights as she took off her clothes and got into bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, did Vic forget about Ripley in her bed? That's gonna be an interesting morning.


	8. Why are you mad?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas wakes up in Vic's arms and panics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for still enjoying the story. It's slowly building and I hope you keep being entertained by it.

Lucas woke up the next day with a warm body pressed against his back and it took him a moment to realize where he was and who he was with. He had fallen asleep while waiting for Hughes and his sister to go upstairs and it looked like Hughes hadn’t bothered to throw him out and instead crawled into bed with him and now they were spooning and even though Lucas knew that he should just move out of her embrace, he just couldn’t bring himself to do so because it felt so good.

It felt good to have her so close and even with their messed up situation he still felt something. It took him another moment to realize that the something he felt was her hand squeezing his right breast, gently at first and then a bit more firmly before she started to tweak his - her own - nipples and Lucas couldn’t help letting out a quiet moan because as it turns out her nipples were super sensitive, a fact he had noticed before while showering but it was only briefly because he didn’t linger but right now with what Hughes was doing to her own body, Lucas couldn’t help but feel aroused. 

He had been with his fair share of women in the past and most of them didn’t react that way when he touched their breasts. They often said that it did nothing for them but Hughes was different of course and Lucas could already feel the wetness between his thighs and he couldn’t believe that this was happening right now. He couldn’t believe that he was experiencing arousal from the female perspective and he couldn’t help but be curious what it would feel like having sex as a woman, experiencing multiple orgasms. No man had ever had that pleasure and Lucas had that chance right now with someone he really liked.

He heard her moan behind him before she nuzzled his neck and started sucking on the skin there, the beard tickling him but at the same time making him feel like he was on fire. Hughes certainly knew what she was doing to her own body and he could feel that it was affecting her as well with how her erection was poking his ass.

It all felt super strange but at the same time new and good that Lucas couldn’t bring himself to stop but he knew that he should. He couldn’t let this go on when she was dreaming about someone else, imagining someone else doing those things to her. It would be wrong to keep this going especially since she was asleep and he wasn’t going to take advantage of the situation.

He somehow managed to extract himself from her arms and fled the apartment, running into his neighbor, Mrs. Meyers, who looked at him smiling.

“Finally! I was worried he would die alone,” she joked, making Lucas grimace. Even his old neighbor knew that he was alone all the time and hadn’t had a date in forever.

“I’m sorry, I’m late for work,” he lied and ran as fast as Hughes’ legs would take him.  
  


* * *

  
Vic woke with a start, feeling incredibly uncomfortable with a painful erection between her legs. She had just had the most erotic sex dream ever with Chief Ripley making her come over and over again.

Vic wasn’t really surprised that she dreamt about having sex with him. He was hot and she’d totally sleep with him but the thing that surprised her was that in her dream they weren’t actually fucking but making love. It was slow and gentle, both of them back in their own bodies, with him taking his time, exploring and kissing every inch of her body and worshipping it and Vic couldn’t remember anyone ever making her feel that way before. Lucas Ripley was the perfect lover in her dream.

The dream confused Vic though but before she could think more about it she had to take care of her not so little problem. She removed her boxers and gasped as she took in Ripley’s fully erect cock, licking her lips because it was just as impressive as she dreamt about and she couldn’t help but think of how good it had felt to have him buried so deep inside of her, in her dream at least.

She left the bed and walked into the bathroom underneath the shower. She thought about taking a cold shower to get rid of her problem but curiosity got the best of her and instead she turned on the warm water before grasping her erection and slowly moving her hand up and down the length of Ripley’s cock. She closed her eyes, imaging the things they had done in her dream while fucking herself or well, giving the chief a hand job in a very unique way and it didn’t take long for her to find release and come all over her hand.

_ Well that was easy! _

She wasn’t sure what she expected but she didn’t quite expect for it to be over so fast. Was it always like that for men? Was it like that because Ripley was older or was it just because she was already so worked up because of her hot dream? 

She groaned when she thought of how much longer it took her to get there as a woman but for men apparently it was really easy and part of her envied them because it was great for a quickie but otherwise sex was something to be enjoyed for several hours and it made her even more curious as to how long Ripley would actually last in his own body while fucking her. She refused to believe that he wasn’t a good lay. Her dream was just too good but at the same time maybe that’s why he was alone. 

Vic really needed to stop thinking of her boss’ sex life, so she finished showering, got dressed and went into the kitchen to get some coffee when she heard a knock at the door. 

She looked at the clock and wondered who it was, part of her wishing it was Ripley but she dismissed that thought immediately.

“Hello Lucas,” the old lady said as Vic opened the door, finding Ripley’s neighbor standing in front of her. “I think these belong to you,” she said smiling as she handed her several envelopes.

“Thank you,” Vic smiled back, ready to close the door when the old lady spoke again.

“I’m so glad you are dating again and putting yourself out there. A handsome man like you shouldn’t be alone,” she said.

Vic looked at her confused. Was she talking about Jennifer? She must have known Jennifer and that she was Ripley’s sister and not his date. “Um, I think you are mistaken. That was my sister,” she replied and the neighbor chuckled.

“Not Jennifer. I’m talking about that gorgeous black woman that left your apartment this morning. She was in a hurry, mumbled something about being late for work and then just ran off. She really was a stunner though.”

Vic stared at the old woman.  _ Ripley was there this morning? He was in the apartment? _

“Are you alright, Lucas?” 

“Um, yeah sure. Sorry, it was a long night,” Vic replied and regretted her choice of words instantly as she watched Ripley’s neighbor smirk knowingly. She wanted to correct her but what was the point, she wouldn’t believe her anyway. “Um, thank you for the mail and I’ll see you around. Have a nice day,” Vic smiled at her before closing the door.

She went back into the kitchen and plopped down on one of the stools as she slowly started to remember that Ripley had fallen asleep and she had too much to drink and had forgotten all about it and had crawled into bed with him, only wearing boxers.

He must have spent the entire night in bed with her if he only left a while ago which meant he was there when Vic had her sex dream about him, making her wonder why he had left. 

_ Maybe he wasn’t into her after all? Maybe Jennifer had been wrong?  _

Vic groaned in annoyance because that thought actually upset her and she didn’t know why. It would definitely make things easier if he wasn’t into her but part of her really liked the idea of the chief of the entire fire department being into her of all people. It made her feel powerful in a way. 

Vic sighed. She needed to get Ripley out of her head. It was bad enough that she was stuck in his body and now the guy was stuck in her head as well?

She looked at his wine collection and for a moment wondered if it would be too soon to start drinking, it was 5pm somewhere, but wine was what got her into this mess last night, so instead Vic decided to do the last thing she would ever do in such a situation. She decided to go for a run.

Maya always said that it was good to take your mind off of things and Vic was ready to test that theory.  
  


* * *

  
On the entire way back to Hughes’ place, Lucas couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened at his place. He almost did something stupid and he was glad that he stopped himself in time but he was feeling frustrated and horny and since there was no way he would be getting himself off while in her body, he decided to do the one thing he always did when he needed a clear head. He decided to go for a run.

He put on some workout clothes and running shoes and was out the door in a matter of minutes. He didn’t want to waste precious time and he needed to get his blood pumping and his mind off of Hughes which proved to be impossible considering that he was still inside her body. 

He wondered if they were ever going to switch back or if maybe they were stuck forever. 

_ What would that mean in the long run? _

Lucas sighed as he tried running faster but soon realized that it wasn’t possible considering Hughes’ breasts. He realized that he had put on a regular bra instead of a sports bra and it was hindering him from running as fast as he usually did, so he had to slow down which frustrated him.

Who would have thought that he would curse someone’s breasts one day but they were what got him in trouble in the first place and why he had to go for a run instead of doing the normal thing anyone would do while horny and aroused.

“Vic?” Someone called out and Lucas groaned. The universe seemed to not want him to take his mind off of Hughes after all. Now he was hearing someone call her name as well. “Vic?” He heard again and suddenly had Bishop standing in front of him. “What the hell? I’ve been calling your name a few times. Why are you ignoring me?”

_ Oh shit! _ , Lucas thought. He wasn’t ignoring her, he just wasn’t reacting to someone calling him Vic. “Um, sorry. I was thinking. I didn’t hear you,” he lied.

“Since when do you run? The last time when I dragged you with me, you complained the entire time and now you’re out here on your own, running? What happened?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to clear my head.”

Bishop raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t that usually involve drinking in your case?” She joked and Lucas raised an eyebrow.

“It’s like 10am,” he reminded her.

“It’s 5pm somewhere,” she shrugged and looked at him curiously. “What is up with you? You are acting weird. Every since the sky scraper you’ve been off. Is this still about your fear of fire? I thought you had that under control? I thought you were back to normal after saving me?”

_ Fear of fire? Hughes was afraid of fire?  _ Lucas needed to have a serious conversation about that with her. 

“I’m fine. I just haven’t felt like myself lately,” Lucas admitted truthfully before he continued to run.

“Is this about Ripley?” She asked and Lucas stopped again.

“What? Why would it be about Ripley?”

“There is some tension between you two. Everyone has noticed it,” she explained. “Is this still about him threatening to fire you?” She wondered. “You know that he won’t do that. You are one of the best firefighters and I still believe that he has a crush on you. He won’t fire you. He would rather sleep with you,” Bishop joked which didn’t help at all because he was trying to get his mind off of sleeping with Hughes but instead here he was having those images put back in his mind.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lucas told her and Bishop laughed.

“Oh please, if he was into me I’d totally do him. He is hot.”

Lucas sighed. That was the second member from 19 who had told him how hot he was and Lucas couldn’t help but be irritated by it especially since Hughes didn’t think that way about him. 

“Speak of the devil,” Bishop chuckled as she stared at something behind Lucas who didn’t have to turn around to know what or rather who she was staring at. “Here is your chance to seal the deal. The chief is coming our way.”

“Chief Ripley, hello,” Bishop greeted and Hughes smiled and nodded at her. 

“Bishop, Hughes,” she smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes which made Lucas curious and she also avoided eye contact with him which made him even more curious.

“You wanna run with us?” Bishop offered.

“I’m not sure I can keep up with you young people,” Hughes joked.

“I’m sure you have quite the stamina,” Bishop smirked and looked at Lucas who just rolled his eyes. 

_ Was she flirting with him? _

“You are in great shape, Chief,” she added as she squeezed Hughes’ biceps and Lucas was sure that she was flirting with him. 

“Thank you, Bishop. That’s nice of you to say,” Hughes replied. “I don’t want to be a bother. I just came out to clear my head.”

“That’s funny because Vic came here to do the same thing. Maybe you two can clear your heads together while I actually go for a real run,” and with that Bishop took off, leaving him and Hughes alone. 

Lucas looked at her while she looked away. “Um, how were things with my sister last night?” He asked, trying to make the situation less awkward.

“Good. We had a lot of fun and the lasagna was great,” she replied, not meeting his eyes.

“Is something wrong?” He asked, wondering when he should bring up her fear of fire.

“What? Why would there be something wrong? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she babbled mindlessly and it was one of the things that Lucas had come to really adore about her.

“We should probably just run before Maya gets the wrong idea,” Hughes suggested without leaving him a chance to reply as she started running after Bishop.

Lucas stared after her for a moment before he continued himself. There was definitely something off with her and Lucas was desperate to find out what it was. 

So much for getting his mind off of Hughes.

They ran for about an hour before Bishop decided to invite them both for coffee which Hughes accepted happily, probably missing her friend.

“Looks like I was wrong about Ripley being into you. I don’t think you’re quite his type. Unless he goes both ways like me,” Bishop said as she pointed at Hughes laughing with the barista before writing something down on a napkin and handing it to him and Lucas couldn’t believe what he was seeing. 

Not only was Hughes flirting with some other guy but she was doing it while in his body and right there in front of him and Bishop.

_ What was she thinking? _

“Vic, I gotta go. I just got a text from this girl I met the other night. She wants to hang out and I gotta go home and shower. Can’t meet her looking and smelling like this,” Bishop informed him before standing up and leaving the little cafe.

“Where is Maya going?” Hughes asked as she sat down.

“She has a date,” Lucas shrugged. “And it seems so have you,” he said somewhat bitterly, making her look at him for the first time since they ran into each other.

“What are you talking about?”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t flirt with other men while you’re me.”

“Wait, you think I was flirting with the barista? He is straight and was actually interested in you, well me. I talked to him for a bit to check him out before giving him my number to call me in a few weeks when things settle down. I told him that things were a bit complicated at the moment. He appreciated you having a friend like me looking out for her,” Hughes explained. “I mean I do get to date again once we are back to normal, right?”

“What if we don’t go back to normal?” Lucas whispered.

“What?”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t wondered about it.”

“Actually, I haven’t. I always assumed there was a reason for this happening and that we would be back to normal at some point.”

“But what if things don’t go back to normal? What if this is permanent? What happens then?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about that.”

“Well, maybe you should,” Lucas replied irritated.

“What is up with you?”

“What is up with me? I’m not the one giving out phone numbers.”

“So what, you’re jealous now?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

“Oh right, why would the chief of the fire department be into a simple subordinate like me,” she replied angrily before standing up and leaving the cafe as well.

Lucas sighed as he got up and ran after her but she was already gone.

_ How did she disappear so fast? _

“Hey, you forgot your coffee,” he heard as the barista came outside and handed him his coffee, smiling at him and Lucas could feel himself getting angry again.

“Lose my number, buddy,” he simply replied, not bothering with the coffee and walked away instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, work will be awkward now with them fighting, Ripley knowing about Vic's fear of fire, Maya thinking Ripley is into guys. Who is excited for more?


	9. The truth comes out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somebody finds out about Vic and Ripley's situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this ended up longer than I thought and I didn't even include everything that I planned on including in this chapter (it will be in another chapter). Also, a lot of things weren't initially planned.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy it.

Vic walked into the station the next day, still feeling frustrated and angry with Ripley. She spent half the night lying awake, thinking of what had happened and when she finally fell asleep she had another sex dream with him and once again woke up with a hard on. 

She was so mad at him that she felt like she had to punish him by taking a cold shower instead of rubbing one out which was stupid considering she was the one who would have received the pleasure and not him but she really wasn’t thinking straight and was really just so mad.

She walked into the office and groaned loudly when she found Ripley already there, hunched over paperwork. He didn’t look up when she walked in and didn’t even acknowledge her after she slammed the door shut, trying to get his attention and that made her furious.

“So, you gonna ignore me now?” She hissed.

He stopped writing and put his pen down before leaning back, smirking at her while crossing his hands over his stomach, like he did during peer reviews, and finally spoke. 

“Feel free to complain to your boss about me,” he simply said before resuming his work.

“Very funny!” Vic replied as she dropped her bag and jacket and went for the door.

“If you are going into the beanery, could you bring me coffee, please,” she heard him ask and Vic was ready to punch him. 

_ Who did he think he was?  _

“You have two legs and two hands, get it yourself… sir,” with that she walked out, slammed the door once more and walked upstairs into the beanery. 

She couldn’t help but wonder if he would follow her and she didn’t have to wonder for long because less than two minutes later she heard the door open and she rolled her eyes because he was so predictable.

“Well that didn’t take long,” she said as she turned around and came face to face with Travis instead.

Travis looked at her curiously. “Um, did you expect someone, Chief?”

“Montgomery, hey! What are you doing here?“ Vic asked, ignoring his question. “I thought you’re still in the hospital.”

“Dr. Bailey discharged me last night, said I’m a quick healer or something,” he explained and Vic nodded as she handed him a cup of coffee which he happily accepted before sitting down at the table while Vic leaned against the kitchen counter.

“You sure you’re okay?” She wondered and her best friend nodded his head. “I’m glad,” Vic smiled at him. She may have been angry that he just gave up and told Ben to leave him but she was happy that her best friend was okay and alive. 

“Thank you, Chief,” he replied before taking a sip. 

There was a comfortable silence between them and it surprised Vic that even as Ripley she had that with Travis. A moment later, she heard the door open again and before she could say anything about Travis being there, Ripley had already started talking.

“Listen Hughes, you can’t just talk to me like that. I’m still the Chief and you are you and you have to respect me when we are alone,” he got louder with each word not noticing their guest.

“Well, we are not alone at the moment,” Vic simply replied and pointed at Travis who was sitting there with eyes and mouth wide open, obviously shocked at what he had just heard and Vic really wished she had her camera because his face was priceless.

“Fuck,” she heard Ripley say and it took everything in her not to laugh. She wasn’t sure what she expected but him muttering “fuck” definiltey wasn’t it.

“Please tell me you two are sleeping together and this is just some kind of roleplay foreplay,” Travis finally spoke after a few minutes of silence and Vic and Ripley shook their heads. “How is this even possible?”

“We don’t know,” Vic and Ripley said in unison.

“How long has this been going on?”

“Since the skyscraper,” they said in unison again before looking at each other and turning away again. Vic took a step away from him, putting some distance between them.

“Okay, what is going on with you two?” Travis asked, obviously noticing the tension.

“Nothing,” they said in unison for a third time, which irritated Vic.

“That doesn’t look like nothing,” Travis noted. “Why are you two fighting? Oh my God, you two are actually sleeping together in addition to this thing.”

“We are not fighting… or sleeping together,”  _ at least not in real life _ , Vic thought to herself. ” He is just being an ass,” Vic replied. 

“That’s rich coming from you,” Ripley countered.

“You sure you two are not dating?” Travis asked again, making Vic roll her eyes.

“I can barely stand to be in the same room as him,” Vic replied.

“You do realize that I can hear you and that I am still the chief,” he reminded her.

“Thanks for the reminder. If you want I can fire you right away,” Vic grinned.

“Funny,” he replied sarcastically before filling his mug with coffee and turning towards Travis. “Montgomery, I think it goes without saying that you keep this to yourself.”

“Like anyone would believe me,” Travis chuckled.

“Right.” Ripley nodded his head in agreement. “I’m glad to see you back on your feet and maybe you can talk some sense into your best friend here,” he said pointing at Vic before leaving the beanery, leaving Vic and her best friend alone.

“The nerve this man has,” Vic muttered as she shook her head, irritated by her boss.

“Oh my God,” Travis exclaimed as Vic nodded and sat down across from him. “You gotta let me see you naked,” he said and Vic almost spit out her coffee. 

“Yeah, definitely not.”

“Then at least tell me what he looks like naked.”

“I may be pissed at him for being a jerk but I ain’t violating his privacy.”

“Or you just love having all that to yourself,” Travis suggested. “Also, you do know that men are often naked together in the locker room, so it really wouldn’t be a big deal,” Travis reminded her and Vic chuckled.

“Well, you can go downstairs and ask Ripley for permission and I will gladly show you the goods,” Vic replied.

“So, they are goods,” Travis wiggled his eyebrows. “How big are those goods?”

Vic chuckled. “Can we please stop talking about Ripley’s penis. This is totally inappropriate.”

“And you being inside his body, doing god knows what with it is not?”

“Hey, I didn’t choose this and a girl has got to shower,” Vic defended herself and Travis let out an excited shriek which Vic ignored.

“Okay, okay. I’ll behave. So, what happened between you two? Did you two… well, you know?”

“Of course not. We are being professional,” Travis raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “We are. Well as professional as you can be in this situation.”

“Why don’t I believe you? Come on, tell me! What happened?”

“Nothing happened. You’d be annoyed too if you spend so much time together,” Vic answered and regretted it instantly.

“Wait, so in addition to being stuck in each other's bodies you two are spending all your free time together?” Travis smirked and Vic really wanted to wipe it off his face.

“Not all our free time,” her best friend raised an eyebrow, obviously not believing her. “Okay, most of our free time but you know me. I’m a people person and hate being alone all the time and he doesn’t have any friends otherwise and honestly even if he did it’s not like I could hang out with them without giving myself away and who wants to hang out with a bunch of old white men which is probably who he would hang out with if he had any friends and his sister, who is pretty cool and thinks he has a crush on me, doesn’t live in Seattle… yet, so all I have left in terms of company is Ripley but now that you know the truth I won’t have to hang out with him anymore and can just hang out with you and I’m so glad,” Vic explained, watching Travis grin at her like a Cheshire Cat.

“Go back to the part where his sister thinks he has a crush on you.”

“Is that all you heard?” Vic asked, irritated.

“Of course not but it’s the most interesting part. So, Ripley is into you in every sense of the word,” Travis laughed.

Vic tried punching his arm but Travis was quicker. “He is not into me. He made that part pretty clear yesterday.”

“So, that’s the problem. You are upset that he isn’t into you because you’re into him,” Travis concluded.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she replied while shaking her head, remembering Ripley saying the same thing the day before.

“Admit it, you like the idea of the fire chief having a crush on you or even feelings for you,” Vic hated how well Travis knew her. “And newsflash, if he mentioned you to his sister then he is definitely into you and whatever he said yesterday must have been a lie to protect himself. He doesn’t want to get hurt.”

“I’m not going to hurt his feelings. Besides whose side are you on? You’re supposed to be my best friend.”

“I am  _ your _ best friend but I also like Ripley.”

“Yeah, because you think he is hot,” Vic rolled her eyes.

“Sure, he is hot but I also know that he is a good guy who was there for me when I lost Michael. I mean, he gave the eulogy at my husband’s funeral and you have no idea how much that meant to me. How much his words meant to me,” Travis confessed sadly, surprising Vic. She had no idea that Ripley did that for Michael and Travis.

“Look if the reason you are upset with him for saying he’s not into you is because you actually feel something for him and it hurt you then okay but if you are only upset because you lost that power then I’m actually on his side.”

Vic sighed because she knew that Travis was right. She had no right to be angry with Ripley. He hadn’t done anything wrong. 

“So which one is it? You have feelings for him or you don’t?” Travis wondered.

“I really don’t. He is hot I’ll give him that but I don’t have actual feelings for him,” she knew that Travis didn’t believe her and if she was honest she didn’t believe herself either. “Enough about me. Why are you here this early? Shouldn’t you be in bed, resting?”

“I just spent several days lying in a hospital. I rested enough.”

“No, you were recovering. There is a difference.”

“I guess I just missed this place,” Vic raised an eyebrow, knowing that he was lying. “Okay, I’m avoiding Grant. He visited me at the hospital every day before his shift and I didn’t want to be home and deal with him. I don’t need somebody mothering me.”

“He only does that because he cares.”

“Yeah , I know and it’s sweet but I just need a breather.”

“How about you come to my place or well, Ripley’s place, tomorrow after my shift and we can hang out?”

“Wait, you two live together?” Travis asked confused.

“No, of course not. That would be odd. He is at my place and I am at his and let me just say I got the better deal out of this switch,” Vic laughed.

“Okay. Send me his address and I’ll be there tomorrow after your shift.”

Vic sighed in relief as she stood up. “I do have to go pretend that I’m working before the others arrive but I’m glad you know and can’t wait to hang out.”

“Me too,” Travis said as he stood up as well. “Would it be weird to hug you?”

“As long as you are not only trying to hug me to cop a feel or something,” Vic teased as Travis rolled his eyes.

“I’ll behave,” Travis promised as the best friends hugged. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Vic smiled as they headed back downstairs and Travis left the station.  
  


* * *

  
Lucas had gone into work early as usual to take care of the paperwork that his assistant had emailed him about but he couldn’t really concentrate at all. He was still thinking about Hughes and the day before and their little argument.

He had been so irritated with the entire situation that he had spent most of his day eating all the junk food he could get, since he couldn’t really do that in his own body, and watching rom-coms which he cursed because the guy always got the girl in those unlike him.

To make matters worse, as he was about to go to bed, he discovered that he was having his period and it was just the perfect way to end his already horrible day. Though thinking back, it certainly explained his sore breasts, his foul mood, his tiredness and the desire to just eat everything.

Lucas had never in his wildest dreams thought he would ever get to experience this but now that he was, he really hated it. It wasn’t so much that he was hungry all the time or that he had cramps which he hated for sure but the feeling of being uncomfortable all the time was just the worst for him and it made him really feel for women that they had to experience this every month for a very long time.

He groaned in frustration as he read the same line for the tenth time. The report was boring as hell, he was not feeling well, he was still thinking about Hughes and all he really wanted to do was crawl into his own bed and sleep for days.

He was about to throw his pen when he heard the door open and someone groan loudly and he didn’t have to look up to know that it was Hughes instead he pretended to work and didn’t acknowledge her presence even after she slammed the door. It was obvious to him that she was trying to get his attention and that he was acting like a child but he just couldn’t help it.

“So, you gonna ignore me now?” She hissed.

At that he stopped, put his pen down before leaning back, smirking at her while crossing his hands over his stomach. He was sure that it reminded her of peer reviews. It certainly reminded him of it.

“Feel free to complain to your boss about me,” he replied sarcastically and he could tell that she wasn’t amused at all.

“Very funny!” She replied before dropping off her things and heading for the door again.

“If you are going into the beanery, could you bring me coffee, please,” he knew he was pushing it and that there was no way in hell she would bring him coffee and if she did she would probably poison it.

“You have two legs and two hands, get it yourself… sir,” she told him before leaving the office, slamming the door shut once more, making Lucas laugh. He certainly expected that answer.

Lucas just sat there for a few minutes, annoyance and frustration building inside of him, before finally deciding to go upstairs to grab himself some coffee and give her a piece of his mind.

She couldn’t be disrespectful to him like that. He was still her boss and he expected respect.

He stormed into the beanery not paying attention to anything and found her leaning against the kitchen counter, coffee in hand.

“Listen Hughes, you can’t just talk to me like that. I’m still the Chief and you are you and you have to respect me when we are alone,” he almost laughed at the irony of the situation with Hughes once again yelling at the Chief, at least that was what it looked like to the outside world.

“Well, we are not alone at the moment,” she replied and pointed at someone. When Lucas turned his head to look at what she was pointing at he came face to face with Montgomery, sporting a look between shock and surprise which looked rather comical.

“Fuck,” he muttered, surprising himself.

“Please tell me you two are sleeping together and this is just some kind of kinky foreplay,” the young firefighter finally found his voice and Lucas and Hughes shook their heads. “How is this even possible?”

“We don’t know,” Lucas and Hughes said in unison.

“How long has this been going on?”

“Since the skyscraper,” they said in unison again before looking at each other and turning away again. Lucas watched as Hughes took a step back from him and he’d be lying if he said that it didn’t hurt that she was putting some distance between them.

“Okay, what is going on with you two?” Hughes’ best friend asked.

“Nothing,” they said in unison for a third time, which seemed to irritate Hughes and in a way amuse Lucas since they seemed really in sync.

“That doesn’t look like nothing,” Montgomery noted. “Why are you two fighting? Oh my God, you two are actually sleeping together in addition to this thing.”

“We are not fighting… or sleeping together,” Hughes clarified and Lucas tried his best to not think of how they have actually slept together, as in sleeping, just the other night. ” He is just being an ass,” she huffed. 

“That’s rich coming from you,” he knew that he sounded like a child but so did she.

“You sure you two are not dating?” Montgomery asked again and Lucas could only imagine what they must have looked like to him.

“I can barely stand to be in the same room as him,” Hughes replied and Lucas had to admit that it stung a little bit and he wondered if she actually meant that.

“You do realize that I can hear you and that I am still the chief,” he reminded her.

“Thanks for the reminder. If you want I can fire you right away,” Hughes teased and Lucas got his answer. No wonder Montgomery thought they were dating.

“Funny,” he replied sarcastically before filling his mug with coffee and turning towards the younger man. “Montgomery, I think it goes without saying that you keep this to yourself.”

“Like anyone would believe me,” he chuckled.

“Right.” Lucas could only nod in agreement. “I’m glad to see you back on your feet and maybe you can talk some sense into your best friend here,” he said pointing at Hughes before leaving the beanery.

For a split second he thought about eavesdropping. They were bound to talk about him but he knew it would be wrong so he walked back into his office and tried to get through the reports before the others arrived and it worked for a bit but his mind kept drifting and he replayed what had just happened with Montgomery.

Lucas wondered if they should have lied to him, on the other hand it meant that Hughes could hang out with her best friend now instead of him which would put some distance between them and that could only be a good thing but at the same time, they were in this position for a reason and spending time apart was probably not going to help to find a solution.

He stood up from his chair and went into the bathroom to freshen up, when he returned he found Hughes already there, sitting in the chair he had just occupied, sipping her coffee and looking at his reports.

“You know those are confidential,” he reminded her.

“I wasn’t reading them,” he raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, I started to read out of curiosity but stopped after two sentences because it didn’t make any sense and it was boring as fuck.”

Lucas nodded, knowing the feeling all too well. “Did Montgomery leave?” She just nodded. “Did he say anything?”

“Oh, he said plenty,” she rolled her eyes.

“Can I ask why you’re so mad at me? What did I do?”

“Nothing,” she simply said.

“Then why are you giving me the cold shoulder?”

“I’m not.”

“Could have fooled me,” he replied, irritated.

“Well, then why are you mad at me?”

“I asked you first,” he said and sighed internally.

“What are you five?” She teased and he totally had that one coming.

Lucas sighed. “I just don’t want you to flirt with anyone while in my body. I don’t need people talking about me and starting rumors. That’s all,” he lied. He rather have people talking about him than have Hughes know about his real feelings for her when she didn’t feel the same way about him. He could deal with rumors but not so much with rejection and heartbreak.

“I won’t. I learned my lesson,” Lucas nodded. “You should probably leave my office before someone sees you in here and starts a rumor about  _ me _ . I wouldn’t be too fond of people talking about me either and thinking that I was sleeping with my boss to get ahead.”

“As you wish,” he nodded before leaving.

Lucas could feel that things were different now and he wasn’t sure he liked it but it was probably for the best for now. They both needed some time and space.

Hughes avoided him for most of the day and stayed in her office which didn’t surprise him at all. She let Herrera and Gibson handle most of the calls as he had suggested since they still wanted the job and Hughes just “supervised” them while Lucas took notes mentally.

When the day was finally over he quickly went into the office and grabbed the reports, stuffed them in his bag and left the station. 

He went to get some groceries before heading home, desperate for some sleep because he was exhausted, tired and felt bloated and still uncomfortable but considering the amount of paperwork he still had to do he couldn’t afford to sleep, so instead he took an ice cold shower to wake up, made himself a pot of coffee and some food and opened up the first report. 

He looked in confusion when he found a note with suggestions and solutions for the budget and other things. Furrowing his forehead, he grabbed another folder and found some more notes and in the next and the next. When he finally reached the last folder there was a note among the suggestions.

_ I know that I broke like a million rules by going through these but I was bored out of my mind and figured that it’s not fair that you have to do my job and your job, so I read the reports and protocols and left a few notes. It wasn’t quite as boring and bad as I thought. I’m not sure if any of it is helpful but at least I tried. _

_ Hope you can enjoy your days off instead of working. _

She didn’t sign it or say sorry but it very much felt like some sort of apology and Lucas couldn’t help but smile. Victoria Hughes had surprised and left him speechless once more and if he knew that by now he really shouldn’t be surprised anymore. She was clearly something else.

He managed to finish his work within an hour thanks to her suggestions which were smart and efficient and if it wasn’t for her attitude and big mouth, that always seemed to get her into trouble, she would actually make a good chief someday.

He grabbed his phone and texted her a quick “thank you” before heading to bed to get some much needed sleep.  
  


* * *

  
Travis was on his way to Ripley’s apartment and he couldn’t help but feel weird about it, like he was invading his privacy but he really wanted to hang out with Vic and he actually wanted to find out more about this whole body switch situation. He chuckled at how absurd that sounded. He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it for himself. 

Why did the universe decide to have these two switch bodies, Travis didn’t understand but he wanted to find out more about it and he wanted to find out more about Vic and Ripley because he got the feeling that something was brewing between them beside the obvious and that Vic wasn’t telling him the entire truth. She was keeping something from him and that was so unlike her. She usually always told him everything.

Vic buzzed him in and he used the elevator up to the top floor. He found Ripley’s door easily and was about to knock when Ripley’s neighbor exited her apartment and looked at him, a big smile on her face. 

“Oh, hello. Are you friends with Lucas?” She asked curiously and Travis nodded, feeling bad that he was lying to the nice old lady but it was easier than explaining the truth.

“Oh, this is wonderful that Lucas is spending time with other people again. He’s been living like a monk,” she chuckled. “I hope to get to see his new girlfriend again. Such a pretty young thing but she was rushing the other morning and I didn’t get to talk to her much. Didn’t even get her name.”

Travis looked at her curiously.  _ Ripley had a girlfriend? _

He had a feeling so he grabbed his phone and found a photo of Vic and showed it to her. “Did she look like this by any chance?”

“Oh my! Yes, that’s her,” she smiled before looking at him sympathetically. “Oh my God, did I just out them having an affair? Are you her boyfriend?”

Travis shook his head. “Oh, no. She ain’t my type. She is my best friend. Her name is Vic. I just had no idea that they were seeing each other. She failed to tell me and she usually tells me everything.”

“I’m sure Lucas will fill you in on it. He looked quite flustered when I mentioned it to him.”

Suddenly the door opened and Vic stood in front of him.

“Speak of the devil, a handsome one,” the old lady said and Travis couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I was about to call a search party on you,” Vic complained.

“I was just talking to your neighbor here,” Travis explained. 

“Oh please, call me Gladys,” she outstretched her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Gladys. I’m Travis,” he smiled at her.

“Okay, are we done with the introductions now?” Vic groaned impatiently.

“Watch it with that tone, young man,” Gladys reprimanded Vic and Travis tried his hardest not to laugh.

“Sorry, Gladys,” Vic apologized.

“Good,” she said. “Now you two have a nice day. I’m off to get my hair done,” she smiled before leaving.

“I really like your neighbor,” Travis said as he followed Vic into the apartment, closing the door behind him. He gasped when he took in Ripley’s place. “Oh, wow! His place is huge and beautiful and must be super expensive.”

Vic shrugged. 

“So, a little birdy told me that you or well Ripley as you was doing the walk of shame the other morning,” Travis said as he followed her into the kitchen and plopped down on one of the stools while Vic leaned against the counter while cursing her neighbor.

“It’s not what you think.”

“What I think right now is that you lied to me and that you are sleeping with the boss.”

“I’m not sleeping with him. At least not really,” she replied and Travis looked at her rather confused.

“You know it’s still real sex even if you are him and he is you.”

“What? No, I mean we only slept in the same bed but didn’t have sex,” she explained while fidgeting with her fingers and it looks weird because he was looking at Ripley doing it but it was a typical Vic thing to do when she was hiding something.

“I know you’re not telling the entire truth.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Do you want coffee? I got an espresso machine,” she tried to deflect.

“Yeah, that ain’t gonna work. Tell me! What are you hiding? It can’t be that bad.”

She sighed in defeat. “I had a sex dream starring Ripley,” Vic finally confessed.

“Ha, I knew it!” Travis exclaimed triumphant. “Were you you in that dream or were you him?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Just answer the question, please.”

Vic sighed. “I was me and he was him.”

“Ha! I knew it!”

“Will you stop that. It’s annoying,” Vic rolled her eyes. “What did you know?”

“That you are totally into him.”

“I don’t get it. It was just sex.”

“Well, if you had been him and he had been you I would have said it’s the curiosity because no one gets to experience that but you were back in your own body so I think you’re actually into him and don’t say that you’re just horny because I don’t believe you.”

“Fine, whatever! I’m done talking about Ripley. Can we talk about something else?” She groaned irritated when her phone chimed.   
  
Travis watched her check the message, a smile creeping across her face and he already knew who the message was from and that his friend, no matter what she was saying, was totally smitten with their boss. 

_ Not into him, my ass! _

She put the phone away and looked at Travis. “So, do you want the coffee and a tour now or are we still going to talk about Ripley?”

Travis grinned. “Well, I mean we could do  _ all _ those things,” Vic glared at him, “fine, give me the tour then.” 

They were certainly not done talking about Ripley. He was bound to come up again and Travis was sure he wouldn’t be the one to bring him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Travis knows. I never meant for him to know but I think it adds a certain humor to the story (not that I think the story was lacking humor) and it gives me so much to work with.
> 
> You still wanna read more?


	10. Day Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic is enjoying her day off with Travis while Ripley gets some much needed sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is kinda a filler I would guess. Not much happens really until the end and that will lead into the next chapter.

Vic and Travis were sitting on the rooftop, Vic drinking a beer, while Travis was sipping his water, both eating pizza. Travis had made himself comfortable in the hammock while Vic was sitting in one of the chairs, still grinning about the text message she got from Ripley.

“So what was that text from Ripley about that still has you smiling,” Travis asked, bringing Vic back to reality. “And don’t say you have no idea what I’m talking about. There is no one else to text you as Ripley except for Ripley, so spill.”

Vic sighed. She could tell him, it didn’t mean anything really. “He thanked me.”

“Okay, I need more details than that. Why did he thank you?” Travis wondered.

“Because I helped him with his work,” Vic simply said, laughing at Travis when he started groaning, obviously annoyed with her for not giving him more. “I was bored yesterday since there really wasn’t much for me to do and I had his files lying in front of me so I started reading them and made a few suggestions which I wrote down. It looks like those notes were helpful since he thanked me.”

“And why would you do that for him?”

“You were right yesterday. I have no right to be mad at him and I feel bad that he has to do my and his job while I do nothing and live here at his gorgeous place.”

“So you helped him with his work as a sort of apology?” Vic just nodded. “You sure that’s all?”

Vic rolled her eyes. He was not going to let it go, that much was clear. 

“What did you tell Grant about where you are today?” Vic asked, ignoring his question.

Travis chuckled. “So, you are not going to answer me about Ripley?” Vic shook her head. “Well, that’s also an answer,” Vic rolled her eyes again.

“So, you and Grant?” She insisted.

“Right, we are skipping you and Ripley and instead talking about me,” Vic nodded. “I told him that I’m hanging out with you as in Vic.”

“What if he actually runs into Vic?”

“He’s at work all day. Someone called in sick, so he is working a double.”

“Everything good with you two?”

“Yeah but this was what I was afraid of. I get involved and something bad happens.”

“But you’re okay. You’re alive. If I were you I would make the most of this and not run away from it,” Vic advised, making Travis chuckle.

“Says the one running away herself.”

“I’m not running away from anything or anyone.”

“If you say so,” Travis laughed as he took a sip from his water.

“Why did you tell Warren to leave you there?” It was out of her mouth before she could stop herself. The question she has been wondering for days but hadn’t been able to ask him.

Travis stopped drinking and looked at her like someone had slapped him.

“You would have done the same thing if it had been you. You would have saved the girl before saving yourself and don’t tell me otherwise.”

Vic sighed. He was right she would have. It was her job and who she was. “That’s not the only reason though, right?”

It was Travis' turn to sigh. Vic knew that there was more to it than he was letting on. “It’s just that a part of me was not afraid of dying in that moment. You know the part that is still missing Michael and wants to be with him,” he confessed and Vic’s heart broke for her best friend. “It’s not like I want to die but if it happened I wouldn't care.”

“Well, I would care,” Vic smiled sadly and Travis nodded. “I wonder what it’s like loving someone so much.”

“Sometimes I think it’s best if we don’t love anyone that much because the pain of losing them is just unbearable. I had almost 8 years with Michael and it just wasn’t enough. There are still days where I forget that he is gone. I wake up from a beautiful dream of the two of us and go into the kitchen looking for him because he was always up first, making coffee and breakfast and instead I find the kitchen empty and it all comes rushing back and it’s like losing him all over again and on those days, all I wanna do is crawl into my bed and cry myself back to sleep where I dream of him again.”

“I’m sorry, Travis. I can’t even imagine what that’s like and I don’t think I ever want to because it sounds terrible,” he just nodded.

“You know Ripley, he was there for me the entire night, on his day off. Just sitting there with me and listening to me. He literally let me cry on his shoulder and didn’t care that I was ruining his shirt. That meant a great deal to me. There was something about him that made it somewhat bearable.”

“What did he say at Michael’s funeral?” Vic asked curiously. 

Travis gave her a warm smile. “I honestly don’t remember the words but I remember how it made me feel. It calmed me and as strange as it sounds if words could hug you then his words did exactly that. It gave me great comfort and peace. I never told him how much it meant to me that he spoke at Michael’s funeral,” Travis chuckled while wiping his face. “It’s kinda weird that I am telling him now but not really.”

Vic chuckled as well as she wiped away her tears. A couple of days ago, Travis’ story would have surprised her because she saw Ripley as a heartless jerk who only cared about rules instead of his people but now that she had gotten to know him, it didn’t surprise her one bit.

“So, enough crying. I got a question for you,” Travis said. Vic just nodded, knowing exactly what he was going to ask. “When you had that sex dream about Ripley, did you wake up with a hard on and what did you do about it?”

Vic choked on her pizza. That question, she certainly didn’t expect.

“Because if you did take care of it then that was probably the most action the poor guy has had in a very long time according to Gladys,” he added and Vic couldn’t hold back the laughter.

“Travis, please stop it before I choke on my food or are you doing this on purpose so you can give me mouth to mouth,” Vic countered, making Travis laugh.

“I mean Ripley would never know if we kissed,” Travis wiggled his eyebrows, making Vic shake her head in amusement.

“But I would know and I ain’t kissing you.”

“Fine! So, did you take care of Ripley Jr. or...” Vic felt her cheeks burn. “Oh, judging from your red face I take it you did. How was it?”

Vic looked at him in shock but she really shouldn’t be. Who else would she talk to about this thing if not her best friend? She couldn’t tell Ripley or anyone else for that matter. “It was different and ended rather quickly.”

“That must have been one hell of a dream you had there,” Travis joked but Vic’s face turned redder, she was sure of it. “Oh my God, what did you dream about?”

“Nothing, it was just a regular sex dream,” Vic lied, downing the cold beer to cool off.

“Yeah, a sex dream with our super hot, super single boss that probably half the fire department would want to sleep with but no one has a chance with really because he is totally into you,” Vic rolled her eyes. That’s what she was waiting for. “Wait, do you think he actually did the deed, you know?“

Vic looked at Travis with raised eyebrows. “No, that man is too much of a boyscout to do that. He practically asked me for permission to take showers.”

Travis laughed. “Yeah, I can see him do that. He needs to live a little. He is too stiff sometimes,” he replied, making Vic chuckle, realizing what he had said. “Oh, that’s not what I meant, you pervert.”

“Oh, I’m the pervert now,” Travis just nodded at her. “You’re impossible.”

“But you still love me,” he smiled and Vic knew what he was trying and had to shake her head. 

“What? You don’t love me?”

“Nice try, Trav. You just want to hear Ripley say it,” Vic laughed as Travis pouted.

“Well, it was worth a try,” he laughed as well.  
  


* * *

  
Lucas woke up several hours later, only to realize that he had slept through most of the day and that it was getting dark outside. He checked his watch and groaned when he saw that it was 8pm. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept this much but he really needed it.

He sat up and heard his stomach growl and stumbled into the kitchen to check the fridge only to realize that all he had in there was stuff he had to prepare and cook first and he really wasn’t up for that and he was craving ice cream and cookies and had none of those in the house.

He dragged his feet back into the bedroom and put on some clothes, fixed his hair, the way Hughes had taught him, applied some make-up and left the apartment.

It was a nice, warm night and as Lucas was strolling down the street, he noticed several guys checking him out or well, Hughes and he couldn’t help but feel jealous which he knew was ridiculous. She was a beautiful woman and anyone not seeing that would have to be blind or super committed to whoever he was with or gay. She was probably the most beautiful woman Lucas had ever seen. He was sure that she could have any guy she wanted and he was also sure that she didn’t want him.

He didn’t know what he was supposed to do with all those feelings he was having. At first, he thought that it was just a sexual attraction but then he actually got to know her and he realized that he felt more than just physical attraction towards her.

“Vic?” He heard someone say and this time he reacted right away. 

“Herr… um, Andy, Maya, hey,” he exclaimed surprised, looking them up and down. They were obviously going out, judging by their outfits.  
  
“I thought you were too busy to go out tonight?” Bishop wondered.

“I was at first but um, there was a change of plans.”

“Okay, then why didn’t you call us. We told you to call if you do have time to come with us,” Herrera asked, looking somewhat upset.

“I must have forgotten. I’m not really in a party mood. I was about to get ice cream and cookies and snuggle into my bed with it.”

“Time of the month?” Bishop simply asked and Lucas only nodded. 

_ So women do openly talk about that stuff with each other?  _

“Is that why you’ve been so weird lately?” Herrera wondered.

“That and Travis,” Bishop reminded her.

“Um, yeah. That is exactly why,” Lucas agreed with them.

“Speaking of Travis, is that him?” Herrera suddenly asked, looking at something behind him. Lucas turned around and it definitely was Montgomery. “When did he get out of the hospital?” She wondered.

“Oh, yesterday,” Lucas answered.

“And you two are not hanging out together? What happened? Did you two fight?” Bishop wondered.

“No, of course not. He was busy with Grant,” Lucas lied while still watching Montgomery when Hughes came into view. He heard Herrera and Bishop gasp behind him.

“Oh my God, is that the chief?” Herrera wondered.

“Looks like he ain’t busy with Grant after all. I knew the chief was into guys. Too bad because I would have really liked a piece of that,” Bishop replied inappropriately.

“Really? Isn’t he like fifty?” Herrera replied.

“Forty-two,” Lucas replied irritated and immediately regretted it as the other two women raised their eyebrows curiously. “I think. I don’t know. I heard it somewhere,” he added.

“Still old,” Herrea insisted and Lucas tried to stay calm and not let it get to him.

“He is still hot and Travis is about to get lucky,” Bishop suggested.

“No, he is not,” Lucas replied, sounding even more irritated.

“Oh, somebody’s jealous,” Bishop teased and Lucas rolled his eyes.

“I’m not jealous. I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for this.”

“Well, then let’s go and ask them,” Bishop smiled as she started walking towards them, leaving Lucas and Herrera no choice but to follow her.

“Travis, Chief Ripley, funny running into you two, here, together,” Bishop exclaimed.

Hughes and Montgomery looked like they were caught with their hands in the cookie jar. 

“Maya, Andy, Vic,” Travis swallowed while Hughes tried to compose herself and act more chief-like.

“Herrera, Bishop, Hughes, nice to see you again,” she said firmly and it took everything in Lucas not to laugh.

_ Was that what he sounded like? _

“So, am I getting an answer as to why you two are hanging out together?” Bishop asked again.

“We are not here together. I ran into Chief Ripley and he just wanted to know how I’m doing, so we talked for a bit,” he tried to avoid eye contact with everyone but Lucas.

“See, I told you that there is a reasonable explanation. ”

“Well, it was nice seeing you all. I’ll be heading home then,” Hughes tried to excuse herself.

“Do you want to come with us?” Bishop suddenly asked as Hughes was about to walk away. Herrera gave her an irritated look obviously not wanting to spend time with her boss.

“Um,” she looked at everyone, “I think it’s best if I just go home and let you young people do the partying.”

Bishop shook her head before linking her arm with Hughes. “You ain’t that old chief and this way you can get to know your people better. Come on, live a little,” she said as she dragged Hughes with her who just looked helplessly at him.

“I’m really not dressed for a club,” Hughes tried to get herself out of it when Bishop laughed.

“Like anyone will pay attention to what you’re wearing,” Lucas heard and shook his head, wishing he could say something. 

“I’m so sorry, sir,” Montgomery whispered as Lucas glared at him. “We just wanted to get some stuff from the store,” he explained as he followed his colleagues, leaving Lucas no choice but to follow them as well.

_ That was going to be an interesting evening. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did you like it? 
> 
> There were some funny things but also the emotional stuff that I love so much between Vic and Travis. I hope you all enjoyed it and next chapter will be an interesting one.


	11. I'll Protect You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic, Ripley and her team go for a drink and the night takes a serious turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Date Rape Drug
> 
> So this chapter is a little more on the serious side with the topic and sadly a reality for many women and something that a man probably doesn't think about while going out. I hope you still enjoy it and the little moment between Vic and Ripley.

If Vic was honest with herself, her protest when Maya linked her arm with hers and dragged her along was only because that’s what Ripley would have done. She was actually excited to go out with her friends. She knew that Ripley wasn’t happy about it but she didn’t want to miss out on a night of fun with her friends just because she was stuck in his body.

So, here they were, in some bar she had never been before. It was crowded and loud, just the way she liked it with lots of cute guys, not that it mattered since she couldn’t flirt with them anyway in her current state. 

She was sitting at a table with Ripley and Travis while Andy and Maya were getting drinks for them. Vic was sure that Andy was giving Maya hell for dragging “Ripley” along and it amused her. Her friend really wasn’t the biggest fan of their boss since she lost out on the captain position.

“You couldn’t have protested a little bit more?” Ripley groaned, getting her attention. “What if someone sees me here?”

“You are out for a drink with some colleagues. There is nothing wrong with that,” he rolled his eyes at her. 

“Herrera hates me. Bishop thinks I’m into Montgomery but at the same time wants into my pants,” Vic couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “That’s not funny, Hughes.”

“Okay, okay. I will just have one drink and leave, I promise,” Vic said as Ripley groaned.

A couple of beers later, Vic was still sitting with her friends and her boss. She had gotten several phone numbers from attractive women and had even danced with one of them, much to Ripley’s dismay which made her wonder if any of those women were his type and if she should keep their numbers or just throw them away. She really didn’t think any of them were good enough for him.

When she sat back down, Ripley was walking towards the bar to get them another round and in a way it was funny for Vic to watch “herself” be buzzed like that while she still felt quite sober.

“She usually doesn’t drink that much, sir” Maya assured her, probably trying to not have the chief think the worst of Vic.

“Well, she kinda does,” Andy corrected her and Vic tried not to glare at her colleague.

“I’m not judging. Hughes can do whatever she wants. It’s her day off,” Vic replied as she watched some guy approach Ripley, making her alert.

“Looks like Vic might not be going home alone tonight,” Andy noted while downing her cocktail.

“Oh, she is definitely going home alone tonight,” Maya said looking at Andy knowingly who had an aha moment and nodded in agreement. Vic wondered what that was about when Ripley stumbled back to their table, almost spilling the drinks.

“Sorry,” he apologized and sat down beside Maya.

“I think maybe you had enough to drink,” Travis said and Ripley just laughed at him.

“You ain’t my mother,” he replied before taking a sip from his beer.

“So, what did that guy want?” Andy asked curiously.

“What guy?” Ripley slurred.

“The guy who was hitting on you at the bar,” Maya reminded him.

“Oh, that guy. Persistent little fucker!” Everyone at the table laughed. “He already tried earlier when you guys were dancing but he is not good enough for Hughes,” Ripley replied, making everyone look at him curiously. 

He realized his mistake immediately. “I mean, me. He is not good enough for me,” he corrected himself before looking at the beer bottle and putting it back on the table. “I think maybe I did have enough to drink,” he agreed with Travis.

He stood up again. “I gotta use the restroom. I’ll be right back,” he announced as he staggered away, everyone laughing at his drunken state while Vic watched him like a hawk, seeing the guy from earlier follow him.

“Next round’s on me,” Vic said as she walked towards the bar. She turned around to see if her team was watching her but they were busy talking and drinking, so Vic followed Ripley to the restrooms.

She found him barely able to stand with his arms around the guy who was holding him upright and Vic was seeing red. 

_ No one was going to take advantage of Ripley while in her body. Not on her watch. _

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She demanded.

“My girlfriend had too much to drink. I’m just taking care of her. You can leave now.”

“Dude, you really weren’t paying attention to who she was sitting with, were you?”

“Who are you? Her dad?” The guy mocked.

“I’m her boss,” Vic said confidently. “You better let go of her before I punch you.”

“Like I’m scared of some old dude like you,” he laughed and that was all Vic needed. 

She raised her fist and punched him square in the jaw. He yelped before releasing Ripley. Vic caught his body easily before he could touch the floor, hissing when Ripley grabbed her hand. She could already feel the bruise forming. She had never punched anyone before.

Vic adjusted her hold on Ripley as he wrapped his arms around her neck while the other guy held his bleeding nose. “You asshole broke my nose. I’m gonna sue you.”

“And you totally put something in her drink. She is barely conscious,” Vic accused him. Ripley may have been drunk but he was able to walk just a moment ago and now he was about to pass out.

“It’s not my fault that she can’t hold her liquor.”

“Don’t make me punch you again,” Vic threatened.

“Hey, what the hell is going on here?” Vic heard Travis behind her. “What happened?” He asked as he saw Ripley almost passed out.

“Travis, I need you to take her home and stay with her, please,” Vic told him as he nodded.

“What about that guy?” Her best friend wondered.

“I’ll take care of him,” Vic assured him. “Please, just make sure Ripley is okay,” Vic whispered and Travis nodded again before walking away with Ripley in his arms.

Vic pulled out her phone and wondered if she should call the police. 

_ What if this got Ripley in trouble once they switched back? _

Vic sighed as she went through his contact list and stopped at a familiar name and realized that it was the police chief. She figured that it was worth a try.

She took a deep breath and called him, hoping that it wouldn’t end in a disaster.

It didn’t take long for the police chief to pick up. “Luke, hello. What can I do for you at this hour?” He asked cheerfully which Vic took as a good sign. They seemed to be friendly at least and Ripley must have called him before about things judging by the way he answered.

“Good evening,... Max, um, I may have just punched a guy who I’m pretty sure put something in one of my firefighters drinks. He was all over her and she could barely stand.”

“Say no more. I’ll send two officers. Where are you?”

_ Well that was easy _ , she thought.

She quickly gave him the address and thanked him before hanging up again, looking at the guy who was still clutching his nose.

“Good thing, I have the police chief on speed dial,” Vic said as his eyes widened in horror. Vic couldn’t help but smirk. 

_ That will hopefully teach him,  _ she thought as she waited for the police to arrive.  
  


* * *

  
Travis carried a passed out Ripley back to their table, ignoring everyone’s stares. 

“Oh my God, what happened? Is she okay?” Maya and Andy sobered up immediately when they saw their friend.

“Yeah, Ripley found her with this guy who flirted with her earlier.”

“Where is Ripley?” Andy wondered.

“Oh, he punched the guy and I’m guessing he called the cops,” Travis explained. “Call an Uber. We need to get Vic home,” he instructed and Andy did as told.

Three minutes later, they were on their way to Vic’s apartment.

“So, Ripley really punched the guy?” Maya asked, looking impressed. “I didn’t think he could get any hotter.”

Travis looked at her and nodded. “The guy's nose was bleeding. I think Ripley broke it.”

“I mean I still don’t like the guy but that is pretty cool that he did that for Vic. Who knows what could have happened if he hadn’t been there,” Andy said, also looking impressed with their boss.

“Looks like Ripley has a new fan,” Travis teased her, making her roll her eyes.

“I’m still pissed at him about the position but at least he does care about his people. I guess Vic will have to apologize for accusing him of not caring after what just happened.”

Maya nodded in agreement while Travis didn’t say anything.

Once they arrived at Vic’s apartment building, they carried Ripley inside and put him to bed.

_ Vic must have been right about the drugs in his system _ , he thought, hoping that Ripley was okay.

Travis remembered the look on Vic’s face when she handed Ripley off to him and it was clear to Travis that his best friend was worried about their boss, more than a subordinate would or should be.

“Do you want us to stay?” Maya asked and Travis shook his head.

“Go home. I’ll call you if I need anything but I think we’ll be fine,” he told them before they left.

Travis locked the door and walked around in Vic’s apartment and noticed a few changes. He noticed some new books in her shelf, romance novels, that he knew Vic wasn’t a fan of, so they must have been Ripley’s and Travis wanted to tease his boss about that so desperately. 

The apartment also seemed cleaner than usual and it wasn’t like Vic didn’t keep it clean most of the time, it was just never this organized and clean before which Travis attributed to Ripley living there. 

When he walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge and found it stocked with fresh food instead of those awful frozen meals Vic loved so much and her sink was fixed which he was sure was also Ripley’s doing. 

He grabbed a glass and filled it with water when he heard a knock at the door.

He was surprised to see Vic standing in front of him. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“I just finished with the cops and wanted to see how Ripley is doing,” she explained and Travis smiled at her knowingly. “Hey, he is in my body that was just roofied. I wanted to make sure that everything is okay.”

“Yeah, sure,” Travis teased and let her in. “So, he really slipped something in his drink then?”

“Yeah, they found the drugs on him and arrested him.” 

“What about you punching him?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem. Ripley is tight with the police chief apparently and the guy deserved to be punched. I mean why would anyone do that?”

“Beats me. Those guys are scum,” Vic nodded in agreement. 

“Where are Andy and Maya?”

“Oh, they left. They helped me get him here and I told them that I can take care of “you” on my own and they left. They were pretty shook by all of it but I think Andy has a new appreciation for Ripley now.”

Vic chuckled. “Has he said anything?” Travis shook his head.

“No, he has been passed out pretty much since you found him. He probably won’t remember much of this if anything at all.”

Vic nodded. “I’m gonna go check on him real quick,” she said and left the living room.

Once she was out of sight, Travis moved closer to her bedroom, so he could hear her better.

“You gave me quite the scare,” he heard her say and he couldn’t help but peek into the bedroom.

Vic was sitting on her bed, brushing Ripley’s hair out of his face. “That guy could have done a lot of harm if I hadn’t paid attention. He could have done a lot of harm to both of us. I really want to chew you out right now for leaving your drink unattended and not paying attention to what the guy was doing but I think you’ve been through enough in one night. Just please be more careful next time,” Vic sniffed, obviously crying before bending down and kissing Ripley’s forehead.

It was clear to Travis that he meant more to Vic than his best friend even realized and suddenly he felt like an intruder in a very private moment and he removed himself from the scene and sat back down on the couch and waited for Vic to return.

She walked back into the living room a moment later, no traces of tears in her eyes. She looked around her place and chuckled. 

“I haven’t been in here since the switch. I don’t think it has ever looked this clean and organized,” she walked into the kitchen and Travis heard her open a cupboard before walking past him with an empty glass in her hand, heading towards her bedroom.

“Where are you going?”

“I still haven’t fixed the sink,” she shrugged.

“Ripley fixed it,” Vic raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“Of course he did,” she chuckled and walked back into the kitchen to get some water before joining Travis on the couch. “You know you don’t have to stay. I can take care of him.”

“What if Andy and Maya show up in the morning to check on you?” Vic groaned. “You should probably go. I can stay here and take care of him.”

Vic looked unsure. “You really don’t want to leave him alone, do you?” Travis asked.

“Don’t start again, Travis. I’m really not in the mood for this right now. I care about him but not in the way you think, so can we please not do this now?” Travis just nodded in understanding. “Thank you. And I’m staying. You can stay with me in case the girls really show up tomorrow though I’m sure they won’t. They know that you’ll take care of me.” 

“This was definitely not the night I expected. I thought we would grab some stuff from the store and head back to Ripley’s place and just have a fun night. This is not what I consider fun.”

“I know.”

“What if you hadn’t been there? What if something had happened? Would you have been able to forgive Ripley?”

“Forgive him?” Vic looked confused.

“Yeah, I mean as you said before. It’s your body.”

“I didn’t even consider that. It’s a very weird situation,” Travis nodded in agreement. “I honestly don’t know what I would have done if something had happened.”

“Yeah. Maybe we should get some sleep,” Vic nodded. “I’ll sleep in the chair. You probably need the couch more.”

“Did you just call me old?” Vic teased.

“Well, I mean your body is older than mine,” he laughed, earning himself a glare from Vic.

“Shut up and go to sleep,” Vic threw a pillow at him.

“Aye aye, Chief,” he saluted and Vic laughed.

“You’re an idiot.”  
  


* * *

  
Lucas woke up with a splitting headache, trying to remember where he was and what had happened the night before.

He knew that he was out with Hughes and her team and that they were drinking a lot and there was this guy who was hitting on him and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Lucas rubbed his temple when he heard the flushing of a toilet and started to panic wondering who could be in the apartment this early. Suddenly the bathroom door opened.

“Welcome back to the living, sleeping beauty,” he heard his own voice. When he looked up at Hughes, he could see the worry in her eyes. 

“What happened?” He asked as he sat up and Hughes sat down on her bed.

“That guy at the bar drugged you and tried to get with you,” Lucas face screwed up in worry. “Nothing happened,” Hughes assured him.

“What happened to the guy?”

“He got arrested after I called your friend, the police chief who took care of everything. I didn’t think it would be that easy but I guess when you’re the fire chief and friends with the police chief it’s all really easy.”

“I don’t abuse that privilege,” Lucas defended himself. “Though, It’s good to know he has my back but I don’t abuse it,” he insisted.

“I believe you,” she smiled before getting serious and Lucas knew what she was about to say. “You know as a woman, you have to be more careful. I know as a guy you don’t worry about leaving your drink unattended because you don’t have to worry that someone would put something in it but sadly a woman’s reality looks a bit different,” she explained and Lucas nodded.

“I know that now and I’m really sorry, Hughes. I didn’t eat anything yesterday and then I drank too much and my guard was down because I still think like a man which I obviously shouldn’t at the moment. I’m glad nothing happened because I would have never been able to forgive myself.”

“I know. It’s not the same for men and women. Some people don’t get that until they have been in the other person’s shoes,” she chuckled. “How do you feel?”

“I just have a headache. How did I get here, by the way?”

“Oh, Travis and the girls brought you here while I took care of that asshole. Travis made sure you’re okay after the girls left.”

“I guess I have to thank them for that,” Hughes nodded. “Are we alone?”

“Travis went to the little cafe around the corner to get us breakfast and coffee.”

“So, you’re not mad at me?” He asked, wanting to make sure that they were okay. He really didn’t want her upset with him but he would totally understand if she were.

“I was at first but I’m good now. Just promise me to be more careful from now on,” Lucas nodded. 

“I’m glad we’re okay and I’m sorry again.”

“Stop apologizing.”

“Sor...” he started and she gave him a look and they both chuckled. “You know you did an amazing job with those protocols. Your suggestions were really smart,” Lucas changed the subject.

“Don’t sound so surprised. I ain’t just a dump firefighter,” she replied.

“What? No, that’s not what I said. I didn’t mean it to sound like that. I’m sorry, Hughes. I really,” he saw her smirking and realized that she was teasing him. “You,” she laughed.

“I couldn’t resist. You’re so easy,” she laughed again.

“Apparently, I am,” he laughed as well, looking at her but quickly averting his eyes and getting a good look at her hand. “Your hand,” he said worried as he took it into his, making her breath hitch.

“It’s nothing. You should see the other guy. I broke his nose. It was quite satisfying actually.”

“Lucky for him that it was you punching him because I would have killed him for trying to hurt you,” Lucas said in a serious tone before raising her hand to his lips and kissing her bruised knuckles. “Thank you, Victoria,” he smiled at her, not breaking eye contact while she smiled back.

They stayed like that for what felt like eternity but it really only was a couple of seconds before the sound of the front door opening broke the spell open and they pulled away from each other.

“I’m gonna go help Travis. You go freshen up and get dressed,” she said before walking out of the bedroom.

Lucas watched her leave before slowly getting out of bed, still feeling a little wobbly. He washed his face, brushed his teeth and got dressed before walking into the kitchen.

“Morning, Chief,” Montgomery greeted enthusiastically and loudly, making his head throb. 

“Inside voice, Montgomery,” he reminded him.

“Sorry, sir,” he apologized as Ripley sat down opposite Hughes who smiled at him shyly. Lucas smiled back, making her blush. “How are you feeling, sir?” The younger man asked, keeping his voice down.

“I’m fine. I feel stupid that I didn’t pay more attention. I’m usually more focused and observant.”

“It happens. I don’t think men are always alert like women,” Montgomery said.

“Women shouldn’t have to be either,” Lucas replied.

Hughes nodded. “I wish it was that simple. If guys like the one from last night didn’t exist then maybe women could be actually enjoying themselves instead of having to make sure that no one slips something in their drink but sadly those types of guys will always exist, so we gotta look out for ourselves and each other,” she smiled sadly.

“I’m really sorry that I did such a poor job of protecting you,” Lucas apologized again.

“Well, I can obviously protect myself,” Hughes countered, smirking.

“That you definitely can,” Lucas smirked back.

“Should I leave you two alone?” Montgomery asked, looking between them.

“Don’t be stupid,” Hughes and Lucas said in unison and started laughing while Montgomery just rolled his eyes at them.

“You two spend way too much time together,” he complained before taking a bite of his bagel.

Lucas and Hughes just shrugged before digging into their own food.

They ate in comfortable silence when Lucas’ phone started ringing. Hughes tried to ignore it until she looked at the display and saw that the police chief was calling. “I’m gonna take this in the other room,” she said and disappeared into her bedroom.

“What is that about?” Montgomery wondered.

“I’m guessing he is giving her an update about last night.”

He nodded. “You know she was really worried about you last night. It took her like an hour to fall asleep and Vic usually falls asleep the moment her head hits the pillow.”

Lucas looked at him curiously. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I know that it means something to you.”

“Why would it mean something to me?” Lucas played dumb.

“You don’t have to pretend with me, sir. I know how Vic can get under someone’s skin. It’s hard not to love her.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lucas lied.

“Sure you don’t,” Montgomery smirked. “I would say that your secret is safe with me but your sister kinda spilled the beans.”

Lucas groaned. “My sister is desperate for me to date someone. That is all. For whatever reason she thinks I like Hughes.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” he chuckled and Lucas knew that he didn’t believe him but before he could say more, Hughes returned and sat back down.

“So, what did he say?” Lucas asked.

“Please tell me they didn’t just let him go,” Montgomery feared.

“No, turns out that he attacked two other women a while ago and he will go to trial. The police chief just wanted to let me know that and tell me that I’m a hero or well, that Chief Ripley is one.”

“I know that it will look that way to everyone but this was all you, Hughes. You did this.”

She smiled at him and Lucas smiled back, ignoring Montgomery’s little knowing smirk. 

After they left, Lucas had time to reflect on everything that had happened. He used to go out a lot before he became the chief and had left his beer unattended many times and ending up drugged had never been one of his concerns but he realized that the same didn’t apply to women and he was mad at himself for not realizing this at the bar. He had his guard down because he was still thinking like a man.

Lucas certainly wouldn't make the same mistake again. For as long as he was in Hughes’ body he would make sure it was safe and no one would harm her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought about this chapter and if you are still interested in reading more. There are still some things for them to discover about what it's like to be the other person and I promise that there will also be fun chapters but I like the serious parts too. I hope you do as well.


	12. What it's like to be me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas has another new experience as Vic and him and Vic have a heart to heart and spend some more time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long with a new chapter. I was kinda stuck and didn't know how to continue. I hope you are going to enjoy this chapter. I'm not 100% sure about it but I needed to finally finish it. I want to finish this story soon because I have ideas for new fics that I wanna write because I'm missing Vicley so damn much.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Lucas came to work the next day later than usual and kept his head down. He ignored Herrera’s and Bishop’s concerned looks and avoided Hughes and either she let him or she avoided him as well and he really didn’t mind and couldn’t blame her if she did. He still felt guilty about what had happened and couldn’t face her right now.

He was happy when they finally got their first call and he could just do his job and leave the station even if it meant spending that time with Herrera of all people since they were on aid car duty together. 

“So, Ripley is actually quite okay,” she blurted out, surprising Lucas. “I mean, I’m still upset that he won’t promote me but what he did for you was great. I’m glad he was there. Who knows what would have happened.”

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Lucas replied.

“Of course,” Herrera said and looked at him. “Do you think I should apologize to him?”

“Ripley?” She nodded. “Why do you want to apologize?”

“Cause I misjudged him,” she answered honestly. “And I wasn’t fair to him.”

“I’m sure he will appreciate hearing that,” Lucas smiled at her and Andy smiled back. “We’re here.”

They grabbed their stuff and walked into the house, finding their patient, an older lady, sitting on a stool with her arm bleeding all over the table. She was trying to stop the bleeding with a cloth but it obviously wasn’t working.

Lucas walked towards her and smiled kindly. “May I take a look at your wound?” He asked gently and the old lady finally looked up and her features changed immediately. 

“No! Not you. I want her,” she pointed at Herrera. Lucas thought it must have been the fact that she was a Lieutenant. 

“Ma’am, I assure you my colleague is more than capable of helping you,” Herrera insisted and Lucas approached her again.

“I don’t want her filthy hands touching me,” the patient almost screamed and Lucas took a step back, shocked and hurt.

In all his years as a firefighter, he had never had anyone refuse to be treated by him and now this old lady didn’t want his filthy hands touching her. 

_ But it’s not your hands _ , he thought to himself.

This was definitely not about Hughes’ qualifications but something else entirely and Lucas was not going to let this slide.

“Excuse me, what did you just say?” Lucas demanded to know.

“Hughes, get back in the car,” Lucas turned towards Herrera in disbelief. 

_ Did she really just order him to leave? _

“But she just...” he started but was interrupted.

“Get back in the car! That’s an order!” She repeated and Lucas sighed.

He had no choice but to listen to her since she was his superior right now, so he left the house and got back into the car and waited.

He was beyond mad at how the patient had treated Hughes and how Herrera had chosen to handle the situation and let this lady who was obviously racist get away with it.

He really couldn’t believe what had just happened. He couldn’t believe that someone, who was in dire need of help, would refuse to receive help just because of someone’s skin color.

Lucas shook his head at himself for being so naive to think that racism wouldn’t exist in this job. That people would be grateful for the help that his department provided no matter their race or gender but he was obviously wrong. 

_ How often had that happened? Why hadn’t anyone told him about it? Were people afraid to tell him? Did people think he wouldn’t understand and side with the patient? _

He had so many questions and he needed answers.

Lucas didn’t speak to Herrera on their way back and she didn’t try to talk to him. Once back at the station, Lucas jumped out of the car and slammed the door before walking away, not saying a word. He rushed past Hughes who looked at him worried and went straight to the rooftop for some air and to clear his head.  
  


* * *

  
Ripley brushed past Vic and she stared after him before turning towards Andy.

“What is this about? What happened?”

“It was nothing really. We handled it,” Andy tried to dismiss it.

“Herrera, what happened?” Vic asked firmly.

Andy sighed. “The patient didn’t want Hughes treating her and Hughes got upset about it and I had to throw her out of the house so I could treat the patient.”

Vic knew exactly what Andy meant and didn’t need to hear more. That sorta thing had happened to her plenty of times.

“I’ll go talk to her. Restock the aid car, please and take Bishop with you for the next call,” Andy nodded as Vic left and walked upstairs into the Beanery to find it empty before walking into her bunk room which was empty as well.

There was only one other place where Ripley could be, so she climbed the stairs up to the rooftop and there he was.

“Hey,” she said but he didn’t turn around.   
  
Vic moved closer until she stood beside him, not saying a word.

“Does that happen a lot?” He finally spoke after a minute or so.

“What, people refusing to be treated by me because I’m black?” Vic asked somewhat bitterly. “It happens more than it should.”

“Why hasn’t anyone reported it?” Ripley asked. “I could have done something.”

Vic huffed. “I mean sure you’re the chief and everything but even you can’t stop racism.”

He hung his shoulders. “Look, there was no point in telling you because you can’t do anything about it.”

“But at least I could try to do something. I mean what if it’s you and Warren on a call? Or really anyone from your team seeing as you are a pretty diverse bunch,” he wondered.

“Well, I never ride with Warren,” Hughes tried to joke, “or Miller and Andy and Travis usually pass.”

“How do you deal with that? I mean, you are only trying to help and they are being,...” Vic raised her eyebrows curiously, “... and they are being assholes. Honestly, I was ready to let that old lady, who seemed so nice at first, bleed out, right there,” Vic smiled at him. She could tell that he was upset on her behalf and it warmed her heart.

“No, you wouldn’t have. That’s not you. And it’s not me either. We don’t get to choose who we help or save.”

“Doesn’t that make you angry that people are treating you that way?”

“Of course it does but they are the ones with hate in their hearts and not me. I’m just doing my job the best I can and if they don’t want it then there is really not much I can do about it,” Lucas sighed. “It really bothers you that you can’t really do anything about it, doesn’t it.”

Lucas chuckled. “How is it that you know me so well,” he asked, turning towards her.

Vic shrugged. “I don’t know. It probably helps being you,” she chuckled as well but knew that wasn’t why.

“Probably,” he smiled back at her.

“So, are you okay? I mean you’ve experienced quite a lot of things while being me.”

Ripley laughed. “Yeah. I mean it’s only temporary for me but you have to live it every day,” Vic nodded. “And every month,” he blurted out and Vic realized what he meant.

“Oh my God, this is so embarrassing,” Vic hid her face behind her hands, making him laugh even louder.

“It’s quite an experience,” he said, making Vic blush furiously.  
  
The thought of her boss and the guy she was attracted to experiencing “her” period while inside her body was probably the biggest turnoff ever for him.

“Don’t worry about it. I mean it’s a normal thing.” 

Vic didn’t look at him. “Can we not talk about this anymore? It’s embarrassing enough as it is.”

“I think you blushing is kinda cute,” he replied, making Vic look at him in surprise.

“You know you really shouldn’t be saying things like that,” she said shyly.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable,” he said and took a step back.

“No, that’s not…” 

He didn’t let her finish though. “I think we should go back before people start talking about us. We wouldn’t want that, right?”

He started walking away from her but Vic wasn’t going to let him. 

“Lucas,” she called after him, making him stop instantly and turn around.

Vic took a few steps forward until she was standing in front of him before throwing her arms around him. He didn’t return the hug at first but then slowly wrapped his own arms around her waist and held her close.

They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity and Vic couldn’t help but enjoy the moment of being in his arms but she also realized how funny the situation was.

“I never thought I’d be hugging myself,” she joked and laughed, feeling him do the same, both their bodies shaking from laughter, before they finally let go of each other. “Look, I know this is all new to you and if you want we can talk some more after work?”

“I know this little diner,” he suggested and Vic nodded at him. She knew that they probably shouldn’t be hanging out in their free time but she couldn’t help but want to be around him and talk to him.  
  


* * *

  
Lucas knew that it wasn’t the smartest idea to have breakfast with Hughes in his usual diner the next morning but he couldn’t help wanting to spend more time with her. It was always the best part of his day.

He texted her the address and drove there first but waited outside for her to arrive.

“Hey, you didn’t have to wait. You could have gone inside,” she smiled as she exited her car.

“It’s no big deal,” he shrugged as they made their way to the diner.

Hughes walked in first and caught the attention of Katie, his usual waitress, who smiled warmly at Hughes not even noticing him. She led her to his usual booth.

“It’s so nice to see you again, Chief. Coffee as usual?” Katie asked as Hughes nodded.   
  
"Two coffees, please,” she corrected her as Lucas sat down across from Hughes and Katie’s face suddenly turned into a frown.

“I see,” she sounded somewhat bitter. “I’ll be right back,” she rolled her eyes at Lucas before walking away, making Hughes chuckle.

“She is usually very friendly. She must be having a bad day,” Lucas said, making Hughes laugh. “What’s so funny?” Lucas raised an eyebrow in question, waiting for an answer.

“Oh, you’re serious,” Lucas nodded. “You really don’t know why she acted the way she did?” Lucas shook his head. “Wow, I thought a guy with your looks would have more experience with women,” she chuckled. “She is totally crushing on you and hates that you are here with me,” she explained. “She is jealous.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. We are just colleagues.”

_ You don’t even believe that yourself _ , he thought.

She laughed again. “Well, she doesn’t know that. All she knows is that you are here with a woman who is not her.”

“Okay, so what does that mean?”

“That she will probably be super sweet to me and a bitch to you,” she explained.

“I don’t get it.”

“You are the competition,” she said, confusing Lucas. “I mean, you know,  _ I _ am the competition but since you are me,” Hughes tried to explain and Lucas nodded.

“It’s not like she has a chance with me anyway,” Lucas shrugged.

“Why, because she’s a waitress?” She raised an eyebrow.

“What? No, of course not. I just...,” Lucas defended himself, not knowing what to say. He couldn’t reveal the real reason.

“Yes? I’m waiting.”

“She’s… she’s just not my type,” Lucas replied and he knew immediately that he shouldn’t have said that.

“Oh really? Then who is your type,” Hughes raised an eyebrow and smirked at him.

“No one specific,” Lucas squirmed in his seat when Katie finally came back with the coffee and filled Hughes’ cup with a smile while side eyeing him as she filled his cup.

“Are you having your usual?” She asked Hughes sweetly.

“Um, actually, I’m in the mood for something new. We may need some more time,” Hughes told her.

Katie nodded and walked away and Lucas just sighed. “Is she really going to be like this the entire time?”

Hughes laughed. “You can’t have everyone like you even though I’m sure you’re used to it,” she criticized him.

“You’d be surprised how many people don’t like me.”

“Yeah but they still respect you. I’m sure you don’t have to worry about that part.”

“Well, I do get yelled at by my firefighters occasionally?” Lucas teased, making her chuckle.

“Oh, must be someone really brave then,” Hughes wiggled her eyebrows and Lucas just shook his head at her.

“Yeah, she is quite something,” Lucas smiled, making her blush.

“So, I take it that she is your type then?” Hughes smirked, knowingly.

Lucas took a deep breath and opened his mouth to say something, not really knowing what when Katie interrupted them again.

“So, can I take your order now?” Lucas groaned at her before quickly ordering for both of them, his tone rather unpleasant which Katie didn’t like at all but he didn’t care. He didn’t like her attitude.

Hughes raised an eyebrow. “I know you were trying to get rid of her but I can order my own food, you do know that, right? I don’t need a guy to do that for me.”

Lucas chuckled. “I know and it wasn’t my intention to do that but trust me you will love what I just ordered.” She looked at him curiously. “I’ve seen what you eat at the station. I have a pretty good idea what you like,” he answered.

“Oh, is that so,” she grinned at him while Lucas nodded. “Well, that eggy thing better be good.”

“That dish has a name,” he rolled his eyes playfully.

She laughed. “I know, but eggy thing sounds much better.”

He chuckled. “You’re impossible.”

“But you like that about me,” she flirted back.

“It’s hard not to,” Lucas blushed. “What are we doing?” He wondered.

“We are having breakfast together,” she simply replied.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“Maybe I just don’t want to think about what this means. I still don’t even know why we are in this situation to begin with,” she sighed. “Can’t we just sit here and enjoy this time without overthinking it?” 

“Maybe that’s the whole point of this,” she looked at him curiously. “Maybe this is the universe trying to tell us something and maybe we should talk about it and figure out what it means.”

Hughes sighed. “Maybe I’m just not ready for that… yet,” Lucas nodded in understanding, realizing that she just wasn’t ready for whatever was going on between them but her “yet” made him hopeful that she will be at some point. They could talk about the serious stuff some other time. Right now, he was just happy to be with her in whatever way he could.


	13. Heavy on my heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic gets called to a four-alarm fire and Lucas is there for her afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone who is still reading and commenting. It means the world to me. Hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Lucas woke up from a deep, peaceful sleep and couldn’t help but smile. He had spent two hours with Hughes at the diner, just talking and even though nothing had happened and they hadn’t talked about what was going on between them, he felt like something had changed and that they had made some sort of progress in their relationship. Lucas couldn’t wait for the day when she would be ready. He certainly was.

He grabbed his phone, wanting to message her when he found several texts about a four-alarm fire that had required the Fire Chief on scene and ended with several people injured and in the hospital. Lucas didn’t hesitate and immediately called Hughes but she didn’t reply. He called again but still nothing. He jumped out of bed and got dressed as quickly as he could before calling the hospital, wondering what he should tell me because a junior firefighter asking if the Fire Chief was alive would raise questions.

“Grey’s Sloan Memorial Hospital, what can I do for you?” He heard a friendly voice.

“Um, this is, um, my name is Jennifer Ripley,” he lied. “The Fire Chief, Lucas Ripley, is my brother and I heard about the fire tonight and can’t get a hold of him and I’m getting worried that he was injured and that no one has contacted me.”

“Ms. Ripley, hello. Your brother was here, making sure his firefighters are all taken care of but he left a while ago. He wasn’t injured physically but as you can imagine it was a rough day for him.”

Lucas sighed in relief that Hughes was not hurt. “Thank you so much. Good night,” he said before hanging up and grabbing his car keys.

He needed to see her, he needed to make sure that she was okay. He remembered his first four-alarm fire as the chief and the toll it took on him and it made him worry about Hughes even more.

He tried calling her again on his way to his place but it went straight to voicemail. When he finally arrived, he used the spare key to enter and found her gear lying on the floor in the living room but there was no sign of her. He walked further into the apartment and entered the bedroom, hearing the shower running, he walked into the bathroom and his breath hitched at the sight of Hughes on the shower floor, hugging her knees, sobbing loudly, her entire body shaking and shivering.

His heart broke for her in that moment. He slowly moved closer, making sure not to spook her. He turned off the cold water and sat down beside her, wrapping his arms around her frame, not caring that he was getting all wet, letting her cry into his chest until there were no more tears left.

“Everything will be okay. I’m right here, Victoria,” he used her first name as she looked up at him, still shaking and he could see so much pain in her eyes. He wanted to take it all away.

“It’s all my fault. I didn’t know what to do. I made the wrong decisions and people got hurt because of me. Someone even died and it’s all my fault,” she gasped for air. 

“Please, Victoria, you need to calm down. You need to breathe. This is not your fault,” Lucas assured her, feeling guilty that he couldn’t have been there for her sooner.

Lucas made a move to get up but she wouldn’t let go of him. “Please, don’t leave me,” she begged.

“I’m not. I just want to grab a robe before you get sick,” he replied and she nodded as Lucas grabbed his robe and put it around her before walking her back into the bedroom and sitting her down on the bed.

“You want to talk about it?” He asked and she shook her head. “You want to lie down and sleep,” she nodded. “Are you sure you want me to stay?” She nodded again and Lucas smiled warmly at her as she crawled into bed and he pulled the covers over her. “I’m gonna be in the living room if you need me,” he let her know but before he could leave she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her.

“Please, can you just stay with me?” She pleaded and Lucas couldn’t say no to her. She looked so broken and sad and all he wanted to do was hold her and make her feel better.

“Let me just change first. My clothes are all wet,” she nodded as he quickly changed into dry clothes before crawling into bed with her and wrapping his arms around her before kissing her forehead. 

She snuggled into him and soon her breathing evened out and her eyes closed. “Thank you, Lucas!” She whispered before falling asleep in his arms.

Lucas smiled at the use of his first name and just held her and hoped that she would want to talk in the morning. He knew from his own experience that it helped and he hoped that he could help her get through this.  
  


* * *

  
Vic slowly opened her eyes, feeling tired and emotionally drained after the horrible day she had had. She couldn’t help but think about the decisions she had to make and all the injured firefighters and the one that wasn’t so lucky and hadn’t survived. Vic knew that his wife’s face when she was told that her husband had died, would forever be etched in her mind and would forever haunt her.

She could feel her eyes well up with tears again as someone stirred behind her and pulled her closer. She looked at the arm around her waist and realized that it was her own and smiled weakly, knowing that Ripley hadn’t left her and had actually stayed with her.

Vic turned around so she could look at him and was surprised to find him awake.

“Hey,” he whispered softly. “How are you feeling?”

“You stayed,” she sniffed, ignoring his question. “Have you slept at all?”

He shook his head. “And neither have you. It’s only been an hour.”

“Really?” He nodded. “That explains why I’m still so tired.”

“Do you… do you want to talk about it?” He offered and Vic wasn’t sure.

She was exhausted and wanted to sleep for days but at the same time she was sure that she couldn’t fall asleep no matter how tired she was. She slowly nodded.

“Do you want me to make you some tea?” Vic nodded again when her stomach grumbled and she remembered that she hadn’t eaten since their breakfast together. “Looks like I’ll be making more than just tea then,” he teased, making her chuckle slightly. “I’ll be right back,” he smiled before kissing her forehead and walking out of the room.

Vic’s eyes followed him as he left and she smiled. It had only been a little over a week since they found themselves in this predicament but she couldn’t deny it any longer that she had feelings for him and that he made her feel things that she had never felt before or thought was possible for her to feel for anyone. He somehow always seemed to know what to say to make her feel better and give her comfort.

She got out of bed and put on some clothes before joining him in the kitchen. She sat down and watched him cook for her, wearing his own clothes and Vic had to admit that his clothes looked pretty good on her body. As if he could sense her presence he turned around and smiled at her before winking, making her smile as well.

“You better turn back around before you burn my food,” she teased, making him chuckle. 

“I can multitask,” he assured her. “What kinda tea do you want?”

“I was thinking that maybe I could go for something a bit stronger,” she said.

“Well, you know where to find it,” he replied as Vic grabbed the whiskey bottle, pouring herself a glass and downing the liquid in one go. She could feel the burn in her throat as she poured herself another glass.

After her third glass, she started feeling bold and walked over to where Ripley was standing. She wrapped her arms around him and put her head on his shoulder.

“Hughes, what are you doing?” She could tell by his voice that this was affecting him as much as it was affecting her.

“So, we are back to last names again?” Vic wondered as she kissed his neck.

“Victoria, you have no idea how much I want this but not like this. Not tonight,” Vic sighed. She knew that he was right, so she let go of him reluctantly and sat back down, waiting for her food.

He filled a plate with food and put it down in front of her and Vic couldn’t help but smile. “You made me the Eggy thing?”

He chuckled. “That dish still has a name,” he replied before sitting down beside her. “Just eat and then we can talk.”

“How do you do it?” Vic asked between bites.

“Do what?”

“Live with the decisions you have to make every day? I mean, I only did it for a few hours and I am emotionally exhausted. Having the responsibility for every single person’s life on that scene was too much and I’m not sure that I made the right decisions and now there are three firefighters in critical condition and I don’t know if they are going to make it and the way Kellerman’s wife just broke down in front of all of us and just sobbed while her son was holding  _ her _ , I don’t think I’ll ever get that image out of my mind and I couldn’t help but feel guilty, that it was my fault that this child would grow up without a father and that she was a widow now,” Vic started crying again and put the fork down. “Afterwards, I went over to her but I had no idea what to tell her. I mean what do you say to someone who just lost the love of their life?”

Ripley took her hands in his as she turned around to look at him. “There is really nothing you can say in that moment, nothing that will make it better or make it make sense. It’s not easy and there are often moments where I doubt myself and wonder if I made the right choices but that is part of this job. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Sometimes I have to decide to not go in and save someone because I don’t want even more deaths on my hands. I know that from the outside it may seem cold and like I don’t care,” Vic looked down, feeling guilty for thinking that about him. 

“I’m sorry that I said that,” she apologized before looking up again.

“I know. I hope you do know that I care. I care very much and none of this is easy for me,” she could tell that he was sincere and that it was eaten at him.

“I know. I knew it before tonight but I think I understand it much better now, having been there myself.”

Ripley smiled warmly. “I guess we both had quite a few things to learn about each other,” Vic nodded in agreement. “Eat the rest of your food. We can talk some more later.”

“Have there been many deaths under your command?” Vic wondered as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“More than I like. Every life lost weighs heavy on my heart. Whether it’s one of my firefighters or a civilian, I feel like I fail those people when they don’t make it out alive but I am doing the best I can and at the end of the day, I am only human who makes mistakes and sometimes makes the wrong decisions and I have to live with them.”

“You still love your job though,” she asked and he smiled at her.

“I do because the good days outweigh the bad ones. Not that it makes the losses any easier but helping people, saving lives and making a difference in this world, does help with coping with those losses.”

“I understand,” Vic continued eating with her left hand while her right hand still remained in his.

“You feel better?” He asked as he caressed her hand and Vic nodded while taking the last bite, putting the fork down again, she turned towards him and took both his hands in hers.

“You always make me feel better,” she confessed before yawning, making them both laugh.

“Come on, let’s go to bed,“ he suggested as he got up and pulled her to her feet.

“You’re staying?” She asked hopeful and he nodded, smiling at her with so much affection that it took Vic’s breath away.

“There is nowhere I’d rather be, Victoria.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What will happen next? Will they give into their feelings for each other?


	14. Back to Normal?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic wakes up with Lucas but things don't go quite as she wants them to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for having to wait so long for a new chapter. I finally got to writing this story again and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Vic woke up with a smile on her face, feeling rested and happy as she remembered that Lucas had stayed with her. She could feel his warm body behind her, one arm around her waist, his hand cupping her breast.

_ Wait? Her breast? _ , she thought as she looked down and realized that she was back in her own body.

“Oh My God, am I dreaming?” She wondered as she felt Lucas stir behind her, his hand squeezing her breast, making her moan because his touch felt so good.

_ Definitely not a dream _ , she thought as she turned in his arms and stared at his handsome face. 

His eyes slowly opened. “Mmh, looks like I’m dreaming again,” he said while smiling at her before leaning in to kiss her lips. 

Vic kissed him back eagerly before climbing on top of him, rocking her hips against his, feeling his cock stir to life when he stopped suddenly.

Vic looked at him in confusion. “Wait, this is not a dream?” He realized and Vic shook her head before kissing a trail down his neck.

“This is much better than a dream,” she mumbled against his neck as she felt his hands on her hips.

“Mmh, Victoria.” He groaned while squeezing her hips. “Damn it, we need to stop this,” he suddenly said, making Vic stop immediately, looking at him with hurt in her eyes before getting off of him.

She huffed and shook her head. “I’m such an idiot,” she jumped out of his bed and grabbed her clothes.

“No, wait. Victoria, that’s not,” he called after her but she didn’t wanna hear his excuses and just ran out of his apartment, not caring that she was half-naked.

She entered the elevator and quickly put on her clothes before checking her pockets for her car keys and her phone.

She was glad when she found her car parked right in front of the building, jumped into it and just drove. 

“I’m such an idiot,” she repeated as a tear rolled down her cheek and then another until she was sobbing so hard she had to pull over to let it all out.

She couldn’t believe how stupid she was to think that he was actually into her. He obviously didn’t want her and it broke Vic’s heart seeing as how she had developed feelings for her boss over the course of their body switch.  
  
She wiped her tears and blew her nose before taking a deep breath to calm down. She needed Travis right. He would know what to do.  
  


* * *

  
Lucas groaned as he got out of bed and put on a pair of pants before running after Vic, not bothering to wait for the elevator. He took two steps at a time, hoping he wouldn’t fall and break his neck before he could tell her the reason why he stopped them from going any further.

When he finally made it downstairs and out of his building, all he could see was her car driving away. “Fuck,” he cursed, threading his fingers into his hair before hanging his head. “Damn it!!”

That’s not how he wanted the thing with Vic to go at all. He wanted to be with her but he wanted to do it the right way. She deserved that but now he fucked it all up. He returned to his apartment to get dressed before driving to Vic’s place so he could explain himself. He needed her to know how he felt.

He dialed her number. “Victoria, I know you are not going to pick up the phone, that’s why I'm on my way to your place now. I need to talk to you. You got the wrong idea when I told you to stop and didn’t give me a chance to explain myself to you and I just need you to know that I’m totally...” the rest of the words died in his throat when suddenly a car rammed into his and then there was only darkness.  
  


* * *

  
Vic banged on Travis’ door. “I know you’re in there, Travis. Open the damn door, please!”

“Hold your horses,” she heard him from inside his apartment, followed by footsteps before her best friend finally opened the door. “Chief Ripley?”  
  
“It’s me, Vic!” She said as she barged into his apartment.

“Yeah, right. Like I’m gonna believe that.”

“Your first kiss was with your cousin when you were twelve when you played spin the bottle and it made you realize that you were into guys,” Vic replied, hoping he would believe her.

His eyes went wide. “Only Vic knows that,” Vic rolled her eyes at him. “So, you and Ripley are back to normal,” Vic closed her eyes and took a deep breath at the mention of his name. “What’s wrong?”

“He doesn’t want me,” Vic tried not to cry.

“I’m confused. Who doesn’t want you?”

“Lucas...” Travis looked at her in confusion as Vic paced back and forth. “Ripley. He doesn’t want me.”

“Do you want him to want you?” Vic didn’t say anything and just started crying again.

“It doesn’t matter because he doesn’t want me anyway. He made that perfectly clear this morning,” Vic said before sitting down on his couch. 

“Wait, this morning? Oh My God, did you two sleep together? Was that before or after switching back?” Travis wondered as he joined her on the couch.

“No, we didn’t sleep together. He stopped before we could go there,” Vic looked at Travis’ face and realized that he was still confused. “I was called into work yesterday as the Chief and well, let’s just say it was horrible and he showed up at the end of the day and was there for me to help me get through it because he knew how hard it would be for me and he stayed the night. When I woke up this morning, I was back in my own body and his arms were wrapped around me and it just felt so good and he woke up and we started kissing and then he told me to stop and I just…”

“You just ran out without letting him explain,” Travis finished and Vic nodded. “What if the reason he stopped was to make sure that it wasn’t just a one and done but something more? I mean, he does have a lot to lose as the Chief.”

Vic sighed. She hadn’t even thought about that. What if Travis was right? What if he just wanted to make sure that she was all in and that it wasn’t just a one night stand.

“So, are we going to talk about you being totally in love with our boss?”

“I’m not...” Vic started but stopped as soon as she saw Travis’ unbelieving face.

“Yeah, right.”

“I’m not in love with him but I do care about him… a lot and well if I haven’t just ruined it by running out on him, well maybe this could actually turn into love.”

Travis smiled at her. “You know that you’re already halfway there, right?”

Vic just stared at him, not knowing what to say. “I… I can’t be in love with him. I mean, I didn’t even like him like a week ago.”

“I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Michael from the first moment I saw him,” Travis confessed.

“What? Who is talking about spending the rest of our lives together,” Vic started to panic.

“I didn’t say that you and Ripley should get married… anytime soon. I’m just saying that sometimes it happens really fast. One moment you can’t stand each other and the next you want to tear each other's clothes off and well, you know.”

Vic chuckled.

“Call him,” he suggested.

“What if you’re wrong and he doesn’t want me?”

“Well, then at least you know and can move on,” she nodded because Travis had a point.

She took her phone out of her pocket and couldn’t help but smile when she saw that Lucas had left her a voicemail. 

“Did he text you?” Travis wondered as he tried to peek at her. 

“No, he left me a voicemail.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Listen to it,” he encouraged her.

“Okay, here goes nothing,” she said as she started to listen to it.

“Victoria,” she smiled at him calling her “Victoria”. “I know you are not going to pick up the phone, that’s why I'm on my way to your place now. I need to talk to you. You got the wrong idea when I told you to stop and didn’t give me a chance to explain myself to you and I just need you to know that I’m totally...” Vic suddenly gasped and dropped the phone. 

“Oh My God, Oh My God,” she said over and over again as her eyes welled up with tears again.

“Vic, what the hell is wrong?” But Vic couldn’t speak. 

Travis took her phone from her lap and listened to the voicemail himself. “Oh shit!” She could hear him say as he pulled her up. “Come on, Vic! We gotta get to the hospital.”

“We don’t even know where he is or if he is okay,” Vic started crying. “This is all my fault. If I hadn’t left, we would be together now but instead he is...” Vic gasped for air.

“Don’t!” Travis took her face in his hands and made her look at him. “Vic, listen to me. I need you to breathe. Okay?” Vic nodded as she tried to calm down and breathe again. “He is going to be okay. We will check all the hospitals until we find him, so you can tell him how much he means to you. Okay?” Vic nodded again. “Just hold on to me. I’m here for you,” Travis assured her as they left his apartment and drove to Grey’s Sloan Memorial Hospital first.

Vic tried not to think of the worst as they entered the hospital, hoping that Lucas was okay and that the doctors would give them any news on him if he was there.

“Hi, I need your help. We are looking for Lucas Ripley. White, male, early forties. Was probably just brought in after a car accident. Does that ring any bells?” He asked the nurse.

“I’m sorry but I can’t give you information on any patients,” the nurse replied.

“He is the Chief of the Fire Department and our interim captain. We are also firefighters and want to make sure he is okay,” Travis explained but the nurse didn’t budge.

“Montgomery, Hughes?” Vic heard someone and turned around to find Dr. Bailey walking towards them. “Is everything okay?” She wondered.

“Actually, no,” the doctor looked at her in concern. “We are trying to find Chief Ripley. He had an accident and I… I… I need to know if he is here and if he is okay,” Vic confessed as tears started falling down her cheeks.

“Of course, Vic as in Victoria,” Dr. Bailey replied with a smile.

“I don’t understand.”

“He was calling out for Vic before he lost consciousness and judging by how worried you are about him I take it that he was calling out for you,” she concluded.

Vic just nodded.

“Is he okay?” Travis asked curiously.

“Usually, I wouldn’t be allowed to give out this information but I’ll make an exception in your case. He is alive and he is stable. He’s gonna be fine. Just a few cuts and bruises and a minor concussion.”

Vic sighed in relief. “I know I’m not his family but his sister doesn’t live here and he doesn’t have anyone else and I don’t want him to be alone. Can I please see him?” Vic pleaded, hoping that the doctor would let her in.

Dr. Bailey smiled at her. “Come on, he is in room 1743.” 

Vic and Travis followed her, Travis never letting go of her hand, giving her so much strength and she was so grateful for him because she didn’t think that she could do this without him.

They stopped in front of his room and Vic’s hand trembled as she reached for the door handle before she paused for a moment.

“I don’t think I can go in there,” she admitted, not wanting to see him hurt.

“Yes, you can. It’s gonna be okay. He needs you right now and you need him,” Travis squeezed her hand. “Just go in there and be with him. I’m right here if you need me,” he assured her as Vic nodded and finally went into Lucas’ room.

She gasped when she entered the room and saw him hooked up to the machines looking pale and bruised. She couldn’t help but cry at the sight of him like this because this was all her fault. She moved closer and sat down on his bed before taking his hand into hers carefully, not wanting to hurt him more.

She just sat there, stroking his hand, not sure what to say to him. 

“I’m so sorry, Lucas. I shouldn’t have just run out on you and now you’re hurt because of me,” she sobbed harder and closed her eyes. “I just didn’t want to hear you tell me you didn’t want me and now I messed it all up.”

“You didn’t mess anything up,” she heard him say weakly.

Her eyes shot open and she gazed at him, his blue eyes staring back at her. “You’re here,” he smiled at her while his hand squeezed hers.

“I’m so sorry,” she cried even harder as he shook his head and pulled her towards him.

“Lie down with me, please,” he pleaded.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Anyone could see and I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Victoria, I’m okay. I just want to hold you and I don’t care who sees us. I’m falling in love with you,” he confessed and Vic’s breath hitched. “I think I’ve been since you yelled at me,” he admitted.

“Which time?” Vic wondered, making them both chuckle. 

“Please, lie down with me,” he pleaded again and Vic couldn’t deny him. She carefully laid down beside him, on arms wrapping around his waist while her head rested on his shoulder.

“I’m falling in love with you, too,” she finally confessed before looking up into his eyes. Her hand reached up to cup his face, her thumb stroking his bearded cheek before she closed the gap between them and kissed him softly.

“Lucas, I’m sor...” she started but he shushed her.

“No talking right now. I just want to hold you in my arms. Something about doctor’s orders and best medicine,” he replied, making Vic chuckle.

“You’re such a sap,” she teased him as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight.

“I blame you for this,” he teased back before kissing her forehead. “I don’t mind though if I get to hold you in my arms.”

Vic snuggled closer, wrapping her own arm around his waist before they both drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Lucas and Vic are finally back in their own bodies and there will be one more chapter to wrap up this story. The original plan was to let it go on longer but I think the learned enough about each other and came to an understanding about what it means to be the other that it's time to wrap this story up which means a new story will be happening soon.


	15. Happily Ever After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas and Vic are finally together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.

It had been two days since Lucas was released from the hospital. It had been one day since Vic and he disclosed their relationship to HR. HR wasn’t happy with the revelation of the Chief dating an unranked firefighter but after an hour long interview with each of them HR had given them their blessing but of course they couldn’t just let it slide that protocols were broken, so Vic had gotten two weeks of suspension while Lucas was suspended for four weeks plus a year of probation which to him was nothing more than a slap on the wrist. They had to sign several documents with rules and regulations but to both of them it was all worth it in order to be together.

It was a warm, sunny day in Seattle and their first day of suspension. They were lying in the hammock on his roof, Lucas’ arm wrapped around her waist while Vic was stroking it absentmindedly.

“Is everything okay?” He wondered, not used to her lack of talking.

Vic nodded. “Yeah, I was just wondering if what happened to us has ever happened to anyone else and why it happened to us. I mean, do you think it really only happened so we would fall for each other?”

Lucas had wondered that himself. He still couldn’t wrap his brain around it and sometimes thought that it had all been a weird dream.

“Like I know you were already halfway in love with me after I yelled at you at peer reviews, so it probably would have happened anyway,” Vic teased.

Lucas raised an eyebrow at that. “Halfway in love with you? What gave you that idea?” 

Vic chuckled. “Oh please, don’t even try denying it. Your sister told me that you couldn’t stop talking about me after I yelled at you at peer reviews.”

“You mean more like complaining about you,” Lucas corrected her.

“Tomato, tomato,” she shrugged, making Lucas snicker behind her.

“Okay, yes, I admit that I was intrigued by you. Nobody had ever been this honest with me before. It was refreshing... and pretty hot,” he admitted, making Vic look over her shoulder and smirk at him.

“Is that so,” she reached behind her, threading her fingers into his hair before kissing him. “You were pretty hot too when you threatened to fire me,” she confessed. “Would you have really fired me?” 

“Um, probably not. I was just really hurt that you thought I didn’t care.”

“I’m sorry about that. I know better now.” 

“It’s okay. I guess that’s one of the reasons we switched,” Lucas suggested and Vic nodded in agreement. “So, you really thought I was hot?” Lucas asked.

“Totally! When you stepped up to me, there was just something in the air.”

“I felt it too. I’m glad we weren’t alone in that moment,” he admitted.

“Me too,” Vic agreed. “I probably would have jumped you if we had been alone. Out of anger and frustration,” Vic admitted. “You really have a way of bringing that side out in me,” she chuckled.

“I love that side. I love your fire,” Lucas said before kissing a trail down her jaw and neck. “I love your passion,” he started unbuttoning the top of her dress before slipping a hand inside and cupping her breast, teasing her nipple with his fingers. “And I love when you’re not wearing a bra.”

“That’s not the only thing I’m not wearing,“ she teased and wiggled her ass against his crotch and Lucas' brain short circuited in that moment.

“Fuck!” He couldn’t wait to have her again. 

“You know, I wish we had gotten the chance to have sex while in the other person’s body,” she confessed.

“Really?” Lucas asked, somewhat surprised even though part of him had wanted to experience that himself.

“I mean you can’t tell me that you wouldn’t have liked to know what multiple orgasms feel like,” she said and Lucas gulped.

“Um, yeah. Sure. Totally,” he stuttered as he stopped his ministrations.

Vic looked over her shoulder again but Lucas avoided eye contact. “I knew it,” she exclaimed triumphant.

“Knew what?” He asked innocently, trying not to smirk.

“Oh please, mister “I’m afraid to touch you or look at you while inside your body”,” Vic grinned at him. “You totally touched yourself, admit it.”

Lucas sighed. There was no use in denying it. “Okay, okay. I did. I wasn’t going to but when I looked up remedies for menstrual pain, well orgasm was one of the things that could help and after everything else failed, well you know,” he confessed.

“That explains how you knew exactly where and how to touch me last night,” Vic giggled.

“Hey, I would have known that with or without it,” Vic raised an eyebrow at his protest. “But it did help to have gotten to know your body in this very unique way,” Vic smiled at him. “It was quite the experience and I admit that I wish guys could climax multiple times too.”

“Hey, you get to pee while standing up,” Vic countered, making Lucas chuckle. 

“True. That is a perk for sure,” he agreed. “So, did you play with yourself while you were me?” He asked in a husky voice while moving his hand from her breast, down her stomach, underneath her dress, groaning at the lack of panties. “You weren’t kidding about not wearing any panties,” he sighed as he circled her clit, making her sigh. 

“I never joke about stuff like that,” she moaned.

“So, did you?” He asked again while applying more pressure to her clit before entering her with two fingers.

“Mmmh, did I what?” 

“Did you touch yourself?” Vic nodded. “What was it like?”

“Over really quickly,” she admitted, surprising him. “But I had just woken up from a sex dream with you,” she explained, “and I know that you have stamina and can last...,” he started thrusting his fingers faster, “...mmmh, all night long. Fuck!” She cried out, her nails digging into his arm as Lucas fucked her harder.

“More, Lucas,” she demanded, making Lucas chuckle before increasing his speed and adding a third finger. He could feel her tightening around his fingers and knew that she was getting closer, so he fucked her faster and harder, making her bounce in his arms. 

“Vic, you gotta keep still before...” he said as she bucked hard against his hand, making the hammock flip and suddenly they were both lying on the floor, laughing their asses off.

“I’m so glad we don’t have to go into work because I wouldn’t want to have to explain bruises and limps to my team,” she said between laughs, making Lucas laugh even harder.

“Oh, HR would have a field day with that,” Lucas wiggled his eyebrow at Vic before leaning in to kiss her. 

Vic kissed him back eagerly while pulling him on top of her and his shirt off of him. She wrapped her legs around his waist before flipping them, so she could be on top instead, rocking her hips against his. 

She sat up and stared down at Lucas and it took his breath away at how gorgeous she looked in that moment. The sun illuminated her face and hair, making her look like a goddess or some sort of angel. 

“What’s wrong?” She wondered as he sat up as well and just stared at her.

“Nothing, you’re just so gorgeous,“ he smiled. “I’m so lucky to have you,” he confessed.

“Well, you were about to get lucky,” Vic joked and wiggled her eyebrows.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know,” she smiled. “We are both lucky,” she cupped his face, gently caressing his cheek before leaning in to kiss his lips, softly.

Lucas smiled into the kiss before opening his mouth to deepen it, his tongue tangling with hers while his hands grabbed her ass, kneading it, making Vic moan.

“You really do love my ass, don’t you,” she teased before kissing a trail down his neck.

“It’s such a nice one,” he grinned when she suddenly stopped and looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

“Nice? That’s the best you can come up with? Nice?”

Lucas threw his head back and laughed out loud. “I meant to say perfect,” he corrected himself. “Perfect and mine,” he added before slapping her ass.

Vic yelped before she snuck her hand into his sweats, past his boxers and grabbed his cock. “And this is all mine,” Lucas moaned when she started moving her hand up and down, making him hard. 

“Don’t stop, Victoria,” he dug his nails into her ass when she brushed her thumb over his tip. 

“I need you naked,” she whispered into his ear before letting go of his erection and helping him take off the rest of his clothes.

She climbed on top of him, grasped his hard cock, positioning it at her entrance before finally sinking down on him, moaning loudly when he bottomed out inside of her. Vic wrapped her arms around his neck while their foreheads touched and slowly started riding him, never breaking eye contact. 

Lucas loved that they could take their time and weren’t in a hurry and could just enjoy the feel of each other.

“You feel so good,” Vic sighed as she ground down hard on him.

“So do you, babe. I could stay like this forever,” he replied before kissing a trail down her neck while unbuttoning the rest of her dress and tugging it off her shoulders to reveal her beautiful breasts. 

Having experienced her body in the most unusual way, Lucas knew how sensitive her nipples were and how turned on she got when he played with her breasts. He licked his lips before taking one nipple into his mouth, sucking on it lightly while his fingers tweaked the other one, making Vic’s eyes roll back in her head.

She threaded her fingers into his hair, tugging at his golden locks as she picked up the pace and rode him faster.

Lucas could feel a change in the weather when the sun disappeared and the sky turned grey before he heard a rumbling. “Was that your stomach? I just fed you,” Lucas teased her.

“I think it’s going to start...” Vic didn’t get to finish the sentence as the first raindrops fell from the sky onto their warm skin.

“Do you want to go inside,” Lucas wondered but Vic shook her head and started rocking faster instead.

“I always wanted to have sex in the rain,” she confessed. “It’s so hot.”

The rain picked up and soon it was pouring down hard on them but neither cared as they were both chasing their release. 

“You feel so good, Lucas,” Vic moaned, “I need to come. Please, Lucas, harder,” she pleaded as Lucas wrapped his arms around her frame and started thrusting up into her with force, just the way she liked.

“I’m so close, babe. Please just let go for me,” he begged as he flipped them, so he could lie on top of her, Vic legs instantly wrapping around his waist, taking him deeper into her with each thrust.

“Yes! So close. Right there, Lucas. Keep hitting that spot,” she encouraged him as the rain started falling even harder, making them shiver. “Oh God, yes, yes, yes,” she kept screaming over and over as he kept pistoning in and out of her, wanting to feel her come on him, with him.

“So close, so close,” Lucas repeated as he kept going until her muscles contracted around him and she came with his name on her lips. It only took two more thrusts before Lucas found his own release, spilling himself deep inside of her before collapsing on top of her, both trying to catch their breaths.

“This was amazing,” she whispered against his ear, “but we should probably get out of the rain before we get sick.”

They grabbed their things and ran downstairs where they toweled off and remained in bed for the rest of the day, making love to each other.  
  


* * *

  
It was no surprise to Vic when both her and Lucas were sick the next day, both coughing and sneezing and looking rather unsexy.

_ Okay, that was a lie because Lucas always looked sexy, no matter what _ , Vic thought as she snuggled into him.

She couldn’t believe that she was here with him. After they woke up together at the hospital, they had decided to go to HR right away since they didn’t want to start their relationship in secret. Vic knew that once the entire department found out about them that both of them would be judged and people would talk about them but she couldn’t find it in herself to care about what others thought of her or them. The only people she cared about were the people from her team and they had accepted her, had even placed bets on whether they were together or not. 

“I know it sucks that we are sick but is it wrong that I want to have sex in the rain again,” he asked, interrupting Vic’s thoughts.  
  
She chuckled. “Not at all. It was totally worth it,” she said before sneezing into her elbow. “Though I feel so unsexy right now.”

“Trust me, you’re still the sexiest woman on the planet,” he assured her as he kissed her forehead.

“You haven’t even met every woman on this planet,” Vic teased him.

“True but I don’t need to.  _ You _ are perfect to me. Nobody else compares,” he replied as he tightened his arms around her.

Vic couldn’t help but melt against him. He was a sap but he was hers entirely. She rested her head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat, feeling herself getting sleepy.

“Victoria Hughes,” she heard him say, “I love you.”

Her heart skipped a beat at those words that she had never heard before, at least not from a boyfriend.

“Damn it, I love you, too,” she replied before opening her eyes and looking up at him. 

They both smiled at each other. “It’s time to stop talking now. It’s late.” Vic said, feeling the urge to kiss him.

He shook his head. “I’m wide awake,” he replied while yawning, making Vic chuckle.

“Just go to sleep,” she kissed his jaw before snuggling into his chest and falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for following this story, all the kudos and comments. It means a great deal to me that you guys are still enjoying my stories. There are more stories I want to write, so stay tuned.

**Author's Note:**

> So, the movie I watched a while ago was Freaky Friday and then I had this fun idea for the story and I just couldn't resist. 
> 
> What do you think? Like it? Hate it? Want more? Let me know!


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